Here And There
by Jackdawess
Summary: The Battle of Hogwarts reaches a critical point. With few options and even less people left to defeat Voldemort, the side of good's fate may rest on the shoulders and in the hands of two witches. A journey through many kinds of barriers. Eventual HG/GW
1. Battle

**A/N: So, here's my second story attempt. **

**As of 6th December 2011...**I have changed the genre to Drama/Romance, because eventually, that will happen...in some way...slowly. ;) I wasn't sure whether to originally use 'Romance' as one of the genres because it won't happen for a little while and is subtle to begin with. So don't be too disappointed if nothing juicy happens for a while. ****

**My story starts during the last parts of the Battle of Hogwarts...with quite a few changes there after, because several details bothered me and made me think of alternatives. **

**It starts after Voldemort has given the castle time to collect the wounded and for Harry to come to him. To everyone's knowledge Harry has ****not**** gone to Voldemort and fighting breaks out again, with people scattered all over the castle to defend the school and themselves. My story takes a different path in the Battle; some elements will keep the essence of the book/movie, but will be different in actions.**

**It has been hard to choose the genre for this story because it straddles several genres; from angst to drama, to adventure with even a little horror etc, a little romance. ;) A bit of this, a bit of that and a bit of the other, and some humour too. :) I'll also use dreams quite a lot after a few chapters...because dreams can be many things: funny, poweVoldemortrful and instructive for future actions. ;)**

**I have chosen to class this story as ****M**** for ****mature themes****. Although a lot may not be adult in content, it gives me room to breathe and put in scenes or language as they happen. ****So if you think you might be offended by "anything", don't read it!**

**I don't want to say too much about content, because it will give some of the story away and make it less of a surprise. I'm hoping there's a little wondering over certain parts, but that's all I'll say. I CAN say the story is based around Hermione and Ginny...and they are my main protagonists.**

**Harry Potter characters and places belong to J.K. Rowling, I've just borrowed them for a while.**** Other characters etc, are of my own creation. Any mistakes, inconsistencies, big mess-ups or self-indulgent waffle are purely my own creation too! :D**

**The story is still in progress, but I have finished over 30 chapters(as of Nov 5, 2011) so far and will post a couple now and then...but maybe not as regularly as I did with my first story. **

**Right...on with the show. I'm posting the first two chapters to either make you interested or turn you off. :D After maybe six-eight chapters you'll know if it's your thing or not. :)**

1: Battle

Another loud boom and another vibration; there had been so many that it was hard to differentiate between separate blasts now. It was almost as if the stone floors and walls were in a constant state of trembling and the rumbling noises that accompanied each impact made it seem like the castle was in a very, very long thunder storm or earthquake. It was as if the very air itself had become unstable and shaky, which gave the desperate defenders of this great bastion of all magical places, an even deeper sense of being trapped in some terrible dream.

It wasn't a dream however, but a very real situation, with the damage to the walls and structures of Hogwarts sadly matched by the damage to human life within it and around it.

Death had no prejudice; it didn't care how old an entity was, how brilliant they were or how a person's family had had so much loss already that it wasn't fair to have yet more grief. At this moment in time it did appear that Death was taking more recruits from the side of good than the side of evil. However, that would also be a mistaken judgment too; Death wasn't concerned by which side was winning or losing, it just mopped up the carnage and debris that came in its path.

In the midst of it all, Hermione was still fighting. She had taken cover momentarily in a dark stone alcove on the Third Floor, out of breath and unable to hardly move from exhaustion, after managing to stun and injure yet another Death Eater. The tide of Voldemort's followers was unending and after defeating one, another one would take their place, full of the same fanatical venom.

Not long before Hermione had found herself in this situation, Voldemort had given them a break to attend to their wounded and collect their dead. What a noble, chivalrous man he was. _Man? That evil thing isn't a man!_ Hermione thought fiercely. _He only stopped the fighting in the hope Harry would feel so guilty about all the dead that he would go to the Dark Lord meekly._ When that didn't happen, the onslaught started again with seemingly more chaos than before.

_We're losing_, Hermione thought. There was no other way to analyse the situation. In the very near future they would be horribly outnumbered, with the witches and wizards, still able to fight, that much more exhausted and weakened, which she herself was beginning to feel.

Ron was fighting a Death Eater, a little along the corridor from Hermione. He was raging with pure fury, driven by his shock and grief of the very recent death of his brother Fred. Hermione wasn't able to watch Ron too closely, if she did she would become distracted with worry and fear and then she wouldn't be as effective herself. Even in this small part of Hogwarts castle it was almost a case of everyone for themselves. _Survive_, was the motto to hold to, whatever you do, just try to survive...somehow.

Hermione wasn't sure where Harry was at this moment. He couldn't have been silly and gone to Voldemort because they would soon have known about it and Voldemort's forces would have stood down to gloat.

The last couple of hours had been a complete blur, searching for and destroying more horcruxes, battling foes and barely having time to regroup and tend to their casualties, before the onslaught began again. Hermione assumed Harry was elsewhere in the castle, maybe with some of the other Order members; Ron and herself hadn't seen him since they came back to the Great Hall. As the fighting had begun yet again, and she and Ron had found themselves driven to the Third Floor, it was done in another blur of movement and very little planning.

Taking a breather in her alcove, was all well and good, but Hermione didn't really know what was going on elsewhere. From her place she had assumed it wasn't good news, but she wanted some real facts in the hope she would somehow see a way to make their fightback more successful or to see any way to do something different or unexpected.

_I need to get to the Great Hall_, she thought to herself. The Great Hall had been a congregation point throughout most of the Battle so far; if anywhere had news of the overall situation it would be there. She was readying herself to join battle again and assist Ron.

There hadn't been any noises of curses and counter-curses nearby for a moment or two, and steeling herself to the possibility that Ron might have been silenced in the worst possible way, while she had taken her tiny rest, she peeped out from her hiding place.

Hermione let out a huge sigh of relief as she saw Ron, standing in the corridor. She would never have forgiven herself if her exhaustion had left Ron to be struck down. He was the only one left standing, with three of his foes unconscious on the ground and now magically tied up, although none would be waking up for a long while yet. This matched the four opponents Hermione had dealt with at her end of the corridor.

Ron was hunched over with his hands on his knees, like an athlete after running a marathon. Tired and out of breath he might be, but he was alive.

"Ron?" Hermione called as she made her way to him, still with her wand at the ready, just in case more opposition appeared.

The red-haired man turned towards her, and he gave her a weak smile. As Hermione reached him, she threw her arms around him.

"Are you all right, Hermione?" he asked, embracing her back.

"Yes," she replied, touching a hand to his cheek where he had acquired another small cut. "Where did the others go? I'm sure there were more of them?"

"I dunno," Ron answered, weary. "I'm not complaining though. Perhaps they thought Harry was with us, then saw that he wasn't and decided we weren't worth the trouble?"

"Maybe."

"I wonder where Harry is though? Did you see him at all?"

"No," Hermione said. "I don't think he came to this floor. I'm hoping he's either under his cloak somewhere or with some of the Order."

"Yeah, I reckon he might be."

"We need to get to the Great Hall," said Hermione.

"Why?" Ron asked, with an obvious lack of enthusiasm for the suggestion.

"We need to know what's happening."

"I think we can tell by all the bloody booming and yelling from the other floors and from outside," said Ron.

"We need to know the overall state of things," Hermione went on. "Which...which of us and how many are still standing, and that kind of thing."

"It's going to be a tricky way down there. We can't even guarantee the Grand Staircase is still intact."

"I know, Ron. But we have to try. For the moment this floor looks fairly clear. Let's just get to the staircase and see what things are like there, okay?"

"All right," Ron sighed. "We're not doing much to help on this floor at the moment, are we?"

Hermione clasped Ron's hand as they quietly walked along the corridor to reach the staircase. Everywhere looked strange with rubble and glass strewn about, and the suits of armour and statues missing after having been summoned to fight for the school.

Even after the last couple of hours of seeing it regularly, Hermione and Ron would never get used to seeing spatterings of blood on the floor and walls. Sometimes the blood was a drop here or there, maybe from a nosebleed or from a tooth being knocked out, or even a cut finger. More worrying were the larger, almost pools of blood, where footprints could be seen through the red fluid. On more than one occasion Hermione looked at the pattern of a bloodied area and could immediately imagine the injured owner dragging themselves along as they bled, determined to fight on, or desperately trying to find some kind of safety.

Fortunately, the pair met no one else as they walked onwards, but they could still hear the battle raging around the castle. The dark sky outside was frequently illuminated by green and red lights, from spells being cast. Had it not been the middle of a world-changing battle, they might have stood and admired the colours like they would have admired Fred and George's fireworks. Fred was gone now, he wouldn't enjoy fireworks ever again.

Hermione suspected that Ron was a little reluctant to go back to the Great Hall, because he would have to face the place where his late brother's body was placed, along with Tonks and Lupin and so many others. She gave his hand a little extra squeeze as they reached the stairs.

The staircase was clear on the flight down from the Third Floor. They walked onto the flight of stairs carefully, more worried about its stability than whether it would awkwardly decide to change direction.

As they moved down another flight, passing a limp body of a black-haired and bearded Death Eater, almost certainly dead rather than knocked-out, they heard the noise of battle through on the Second Floor.

A natural Gryffindor instinct made both of them feel like running through to that floor and assisting their side with the fierce fight that was so obviously taking place there. However, Hermione was strong-willed, and her mission was to reach the Great Hall. If they somehow couldn't do that, then of course, they would go back to where they could hear those clashes of viscious duelling.

Another couple of flights of stairs, and another couple of Death Eater bodies, but also a Hufflepuff girl. Hermione and Ron didn't know which student it was, because the face was a bloodied mess, possibly the result of werewolf activity. They only knew it was a Hufflepuff from the school uniform. There was nothing they could do for the girl and carried on.

Passing the entrance to the First Floor corridor they could hear crashes and bangs from further away, probably from the other end of the corridor. There were no doors left hanging to the entrances to the Floors and Hermione leant forward slightly to peer in to the First Floor corridor entrance.

"HERMIONE!"

"Wha...?"

Before Hermione could answer something had bowled into her, knocking her to the floor, as a green light flashed over the place where her head had been. She found Ron lying on top of her and saw him shoot a spell back, then heard a thump as a Death Eater fell limply to the ground and rolled down a few of the stairs they had only just descended a short time before.

Ron was breathing hard, and looked very pale. He suddenly became very conscious that he was lying on top of Hermione, looking down into her face. Even though they were in the midst of something life-threatening and he had just saved her life, he couldn't help having a fleeting thought of lying on top of Hermione in bed. As quickly as he thought it, he became self-conscious and embarrassed.

"Oops, sorry Hermione," Ron said, going a little red in the face and making to move.

"Sorry?" Hermione's eyes were wide. "You just saved my life!" She put her arms around his neck and pulled him down to kiss him on the lips. Since their earlier first kiss, this didn't seem such a scary or odd thing to do anymore.

As they broke off, both blushing a little, they both kind of remembered where they were again and Ron got back up, offering his hand to Hermione to help get her to her own feet.

"Where the hell did he come from?" Hermione asked, not just to Ron but to the air in general.

"From the Second Floor," Ron shrugged. "Perhaps he glimpsed us go past and came to see who it was?"

"It's like Hogwarts is infested with rats or something," Hermione said. "Just when you think you know where the main nest is, another one comes out of the woodwork."

"Yeah," Ron said, giving a soft chuckle.

Ron grabbed hold of Hermione's hand and they made their way down the next two flights of stairs to reach the Entrance Hall.

There was much more rubble on the stairs as they descended lower, and all the portraits on the walls, that were left hanging, were empty. That was until they looked at one large painting of a castle and saw that the usually empty battlements had a fully populated garrison behind the crenallations. Quite what the portrait people thought they could do, by garrisoning a painting of a castle was unclear, but what _was_ clear was the desire of Hogwarts and its inhabitants to fight back and defend their place.

The Entrance Hall was empty, except for a couple of aurors from the Order guarding the doors to the Great Hall. They both turned when they saw Hermione and Ron, with their wands pointed at them, but quickly lowered again. There was no need for any detailed checks to see if the two newcomers were indeed who they appeared to be, as the Great Hall was full of witches and wizards, and aurors walking in and out. Two Death Eaters wouldn't stand a chance in there. It was perhaps the only place at the moment which could boast that fact.

Ron and Hermione walked into the Great Hall, a few faces turned to look at them. Ron's eyes were drawn to the shrouded line of elongated lumps on the floor in the centre of the Hall and to one lump in particular. He knew exactly which one was Fred's and not just because his sister Ginny and his mother were near to it.

Ginny was helping Mrs. Weasley with the wounded but didn't seem to want to leave Fred's side and kept subconsciously edging back to him. It seemed Mrs. Weasley had based her own little casualty station in a nearby spot for the same reasons. Hermione held Ron's hand tighter, feeling choked-up again herself.

As they walked further into the Hall, Mrs. Weasley and Ginny looked up and couldn't hide their relief when they saw Ron walking towards them. The older woman finished bandaging a Ravenclaw student's head and came over and hugged Ron, and then Hermione.

"Oh, look at you," Mrs. Weasley said to Ron. "How did that happen?" she asked as she lightly touched Ron's cheek and his latest cut.

"Well I didn't cut myself shaving, did I?" Ron answered trying to bat away his mother's investigating hand. "Don't worry about it Mum, other people need your help more than me."

Mrs. Weasley looked like she was about to protest, but what Ron had said was right. A little cut on a cheek wasn't dangerous or particularly disabling.

Ginny came over and hugged them both too. She was very pale and looked tired and scared; that was how the majority of people looked in the Great Hall.

"Where's Harry?" Ginny asked.

"We...we don't know," Hermione answered truthfully. "We thought he might be with some of the other Order members or...somewhere."

"Oh," was all Ginny could answer with. She looked on the verge of tears, but it could have been for a number of reasons and her worry over Harry just added to her distress.

"I'm sure we would know, if he...you know...well, if he had been hurt or...captured," Hermione said picking her words carefully. Ginny only nodded to her.

"Where have you just come from?" Mrs. Weasley asked, having given her Ravenclaw patient leave to go again.

"We were on the Third Floor," Ron told his mother. "It was mental for a while and then there was no one there, just Hermione and me. She wanted to get back to here and it was mostly an uneventful walk here."

"He's being modest," Hermione said, smiling. "Ron here saved my life. He pushed me to the ground just as a curse was aimed at where my head had been. He was brilliant."

"See? You always say that like you're surprised I'm capable of such things?" Ron said with a smirk. He rather enjoyed being portrayed as the surprise hero, somehow that made any heroic actions seem even more heroic. After thinking that, though, his smile dropped; what was important was that Hermione was alive and well, it didn't matter if he was the reason for that or not, or whether he got praise.

"Do you know where Professor McGonagall is?" Hermione asked Ginny and her mother.

"She's at the other end of the Hall," Mrs. Weasley said pointing to the end of the room where the teacher's table would normally have been.

Hermione looked in that direction and saw the figure of Minerva McGonagall near to the door leading to the Trophy Room, talking with Professor Flitwick and an auror and a Ravenclaw Prefect. The brunette walked over to them as the other people moved off.

"Miss Granger," McGonagall said as she laid eyes on her. "Where have you just come from?"

"Third Floor Corridor, and then down the Grand Staircase."

"What was it like where you were?"

"It was hectic on the Third Floor, then everything was silent, no one to be seen. Which was a little odd. Then Ron and I came down the stairs and it seemed both the Second and First Floors had some action. There's a...," she lowered her voice. "There's a dead Hufflepuff girl on the stairs there. I'm afraid the face was too badly injured for us to know who it was," Hermione said looking down. "A Death Eater tried to attack me, coming from the Second Floor. After that, there was nothing," Hermione finished her report.

"That's a little strange, as to why they weren't bothering with the Third Floor anymore?" McGonagall questioned. She was thinking outloud rather than really asking a question.

"Ron wondered if they attacked us hard, thinking we had Harry with us, and then realizing he wasn't, left us alone."

"Harry wasn't with you?" Flitwick asked.

"No," Hermione replied. "He wasn't with us. We don't know where he is. Actually, I wondered if _you_ knew where he was?"

"We don't," McGonagall said gravely. "I'm sure he must be all right, because I'm certain we would know if it wasn't the case."

"That's what I've been thinking too," said Hermione. She was feeling more troubled now. It didn't seem that anyone had seen Harry since before the latest bout of battle had begun again.

A few moments of silence ensued, where you could almost hear the cogs working in the three brilliant minds standing by the Trophy Room door.

Hermione broke the silence, but kept her voice lowered. "Things aren't going well are they?"

Flitwick looked at McGonagall and the witch gave a look back to him, before focusing back on Hermione.

"What makes you say that?" the older witch answered.

"I have eyes, Professor. And ears," said Hermione. "We're becoming fewer and fewer and there seems no end to Voldemort's followers joining the fray."

Another look passed between the two professors, and obviously something had been decided from their silent exchange.

"Hermione, would you come with us?" McGonagall said, opening the Trophy Room door and indicating that Hermione go through and down the steps with them.

The brunette wasn't sure what to think, but assumed she was going to be given some information, that Professors Flitwick and McGonagall didn't want overheard elsewhere. This immediately made her mind race, thinking of all the things she might be about to learn.

Hermione nodded, and walked through the door and down the steps to the Trophy Room, with little Professor Flitwick following close behind, and a stony-faced Minerva McGonagall following him, after looking cautiously around the Great Hall and then locking the door after she passed through.


	2. Unequivocal Proof

2: Unequivocal Proof

Hermione, McGonagall and Flitwick all stood in the rather dull, damp-smelling Trophy Room.

"Well, is there news of some sort?" Hermione asked with a small amount of trepidation.

McGonagall sighed deeply. "As you guessed, things are not going well. We haven't lost yet, but it's going to be extremely tough and will test our patience and resilience to the absolute limit. I am however, remaining as positive as possible."

"I understand why you wouldn't want anyone else hearing that opinion," Hermione said. "But why did you bring me down here, when you could have used a silencing charm to tell me back up there? Unless you have something else to tell me?" she asked, hoping it was the case.

"Miss Granger," Flitwick addressed her. "You've been in this fight for a while. I don't just mean today. You've been fighting this evil since your First Year at Hogwarts."

"Yes," Hermione said, wondering why Flitwick was stating the obvious.

"Why have you fought, all of those times and are still fighting today?" the little man asked.

"Because it's the right thing to do," Hermione stated with no hesitation, bemused over why she was even asked the question. "Our side is the right side. If Voldemort had his way, I would be dead or in Azkaban just for being a muggle-born. Anyone with less than human blood would be similarly treated. I don't believe in oppression and the only way to try and avoid that coming to fruition is to fight back. I can't do otherwise, because the alternative is too dreadful to consider."

Flitwick nodded to McGonagall and yet again something must have been communicated in their expressions.

"So you would be prepared to do anything to help our cause?" McGongall asked, although guessing the answer she would hear, she added, "No matter how dangerous, if it meant we could have a better chance of winning, if we had no other choice?"

"Yes, of course I would," the brunette said, again with no hesitation.

"We may not need to use this option, and I hope we don't have to, because the risks are incredibly high," McGonagall told Hermione. "But we have a back-up plan, a final resort. We don't think any of the teachers or aurors can do this, and we decided you might be the best, as you have some recent experience with it."

Hermione looked confused, wondering what on earth she had 'recent experience' with that might be involved in a risky back-up plan.

"What are we talking about here?" the brunette asked.

"We have chosen not to tell you that just yet," McGonagall said, and continuing on before Hermione could protest. "We won't tell you what our plan is, unless we need to use it. There are certain prerequisites that have to occur before we'll consider using the idea. It's safer for the moment, that you don't know what you would need to do. If, and only _if_, we reach the moment where it appears to be time, we would inform you and set you on the task."

"Why is it safer not to tell me yet? I've been tortured by Bellatrix Lestrange and not told her anything. I wouldn't squeal a breath of it to anyone."

"We know that Hermione," said McGonagall in a calm voice. "We still fear Harry's connection with Voldemort. He has accessed so many of his powers and abilities; legilimency and other mind controlling methods were a particular special skill of Voldemort's. If Harry became susceptible to that connection again, then the other side might find out what you know and our last hope would be gone."

Hermione understood that line of thought, but at the moment she wasn't near Harry, or didn't think she was, unless the Chosen One was skulking under his invisibility cloak and trailing her.

"So, Hermione," Professor McGonagall drew her attention again. "Will you help, if needed?"

"Yes," Hermione said. "As long as you tell me what I'm supposed to do if I _do_ have to go off on a mission for you?"

"Of course we will," Professor Flitwick said with a smile.

With their strange little secret meeting clearly over, and Hermione feeling a little troubled to put it mildly, the three made their way back up the steps to the Great Hall. Professor McGonagall removed her locking charm on the door and they walked back into the Hall.

Ron was looking towards the Trophy Room door as Hermione appeared again, and frowned slightly when he saw McGonagall place a hand on Hermione's shoulder and smile at her warmly. He walked over towards her.

"What was that all about?" he asked her.

"Oh, nothing much," Hermione said, trying to think of something fast so that Ron wouldn't question her too much. Not that she knew much, as they hadn't really told her anything. "They just wanted to know about what we saw when we were fighting on the Third Floor and other things."

"So why did they virtually frog-march you down to the Trophy Room to ask that?"

"I said I had some unpleasant things to tell them," Hermione said, thinking on her feet. For some reason she felt she didn't want to share her information with Ron, because he was unpredictable with how he took things in, and she didn't have the energy to either face him down, keep him quiet or explain everything she had been told. She continued in a whisper for effect. "You know, the dead Hufflepuff on the stairs and the other bodies."

"Oh," Ron said.

"It's not good if everyone hears that kind of thing." Hermione emphasized, hating that she was technically lying to him. If one really thought about it, everyone still in the school had all seen a lot of death, so it wouldn't really have mattered to hear about yet another body, but thankfully Ron didn't question it further.

"Do they know where Harry is?"

"No," Hermione said.

There was silence again, broken only by groans or whispered chatter from the injured in the Hall and their attendants, and distant bangs and blasts of fighting around the castle. Hermione and Ron walked back over to Ginny and Mrs. Weasley.

"Where did you go off to with them?" Ginny asked Hermione, nodding in the direction of Flitwick and McGonagall who were now speaking to some students across the Hall.

"To the Trophy Room," Hermione told her. "They wanted my report in private. No big deal really."

Ginny studied Hermione's face and the brunette had the feeling that the younger witch knew she was hiding something. It was almost funny to Hermione, because she _was_ hiding the full conversation she had had in the Trophy Room, but the fact was she didn't really _know_ anything at all.

"So are you going back out there to fight again?" Ginny asked, nervously.

"I'm not sure," Hermione said. "They didn't say anything to me about that. I suppose we stay here until we're told otherwise."

Hermione saw some of the tension drop in Ginny's posture. The girl was tired and scared still. Scared of losing more people close to her, scared of being left alone; but if Hermione didn't know better, she also saw a determination in the younger girl's face. Ginny would have preferred to fight and be involved, rather than waiting for the casualties to roll in, and having too much time to think on all the awful possibilities that no doubt flooded her mind.

A huge impacting blast seemed to hit the Great Hall's wall, spraying more fragments of dust, rubble and glass into the room. Another huge booming blast was heard from another area of the castle.

Everyone in the Great Hall, was probably thinking the same thing, that Voldemort was tearing the castle down piece by piece until he got absolute submission or Harry Potter dead. Preferably, he wanted both.

An explosion seemed to occur on the Great Hall's roof, raining down splinters of wood, the odd old owl feather and a spread of more dust. Hermione, Ron and a few others, climbed up onto a bench near the edge of the room to look out of a window. Just as they focused to the scene outside a larger explosion happened and the Divination Tower's topmost turret collapsed, spreading large blocks of stone and rubble to the ground far below. A couple of giants suddenly disappeared and it was the only positive thing to be taken from such an event. They couldn't see if any humans were casualties, but at least there were two less giants to face, and maybe, just maybe, students, teachers, aurors or Order members were able to dodge the wreckage.

Professor Trelawney was thankfully not in the tower at that moment, and was in the Hall tending to the wounded. If she had have been in the tower, it's unlikely she would have survived.

The Divination Tower's damage seemed to initialize a series of explosions. It went on for what seemed like ages, like a barrage of cannon fire, without a break between blasts. Floors trembling, walls shaking, the atmosphere bursting with the sound of explosions and crackling with fear. A lot of the injured in the Hall were crying and in absolute terror. Hermione found herself putting her hands over her ears and shutting her eyes, Ron put an arm around her as he too tried to cover an ear. The floor was trembling like it never had before, and most people there, feared it was going to split open beneath them.

Then, it stopped, and there was complete silence.

Hermione opened her eyes, looking around the Hall, to Ginny, Mrs. Weasley and the other teachers and students in there. She removed her hands from her ears, wondering for a moment if she had gone deaf. Ron was was tapping an ear as if he too, thought he had lost his hearing. Hermione saw others looking around, just as puzzled. What did this sudden silence mean?

There was a low muttering in the Hall now, as people began whispering to each other, some looking to the windows, others looking towards Professor McGonagall, expecting her to have an answer to the bizarre silence. The austere witch didn't know the answers to it either, as she looked around the Hall and gesticulated as she spoke with Flitwick, and the two aurors whom had been outside the doors.

Hermione thought through some possibilities with her conscience. **Is it the calm before another storm of bombardment?** _Maybe._ **Has a group of aurors and the Order somehow managed annihilation of the Death Eaters?** _Unlikely, and we would have heard cheering of victory if that were true._ **Have all the defenders in the castle been defeated?** _A nasty possibility._ **Are the occupants in the Great Hall, the only survivors?** _Another nasty possibility._

The brunette was then thinking on another unpleasant avenue of thought. She looked to Ron and suddenly grabbed his hand; he looked at her startled face and wondered what she was thinking. Whenever he saw her look like that, it wasn't usually a good sign.

"What?" Ron asked, worried.

"Oh, Ron," Hermione said, he voice close to breaking. "You don't think..."

Whatever Hermione had been about to say she was rudely cut off in mid sentence, as the answer for the eerie silence soon became apparent...to them all.

"You don't think...what?" Ron asked Hermione.

"Ssh"

"Ssh? There's nothing to hear. What are you...?" Ron was finally aware of the change in atmosphere now and looked as alert as the others.

The whole Hall was aware of...what? A strange sense of alertness gripped most of the occupants of the Great Hall, almost as if each and every one of them had been poked in the ribs and stood or sat up straighter waiting for something to happen. Fear and apprehension gripped most of the witches and wizards there, yet they all felt unable to move from the places they were sitting or standing.

Then they all heard it. A smooth, slightly high voice. A voice that had invaded their ears a couple of times earlier today. It was Voldemort.

"It is over. OVER!" the Dark Lord said in an even voice. "You have lost. Harry Potter is dead and we have Hogwarts in our control. Surrender."

The Great Hall gasped, all looking at each other for some sign that it was a lie or that they hadn't heard it correctly.

"He's lying!" Ron said. "He wants us to think that. If we think Harry's dead, he thinks we'll go to him and kneel at his feet."

Hermione waved her hands to get Ron to stop talking, she knew there was more to come, she could almost feel it in her bones.

"You think I lie?" Voldemort said smugly. "Come and see for yourself. Parley with us in the courtyard, now. You have ten minutes to do so."

There was louder chatter in the Hall now, with some uncontained sobs. Mrs. Weasley and Ginny were hugging each other. Professor McGonagall had gone very pale and suddenly the exhaustion of the battle showed on her weathered face.

"Silence!" Flitwick said, raising his wand to his throat to make his voice carry. The Hall fell quiet.

"We have to go out there," Minerva McGonagall said, with an expression of severe distaste. "And discover if it's all true."

"What?" Mrs. Weasley shouted. "You believe he would let us go out there and not attack us? It's a trap!"

McGonagall looked wearily towards the woman. "We have to do it. We either go to him with our heads held high, or wait to be crushed like ants in here. I still believe he will give us time as before, maybe not much, but at this moment we have no choice. Please, everyone who can, stand with me, stand with _us_," she said, indicating the few teachers and aurors around her.

Those able to walk, visibly steeled their resolve as they made their way to the Great Hall's doors. They left a handful of people to keep an eye on their casualties, but the small group huddled together, ready to face whatever awaited them.

Professor McGonagall, more straight-backed than ever, despite her slightly dishevelled clothing, led their small group through the doors, across the empty, rubble-littered Entrance Hall and out through the main doors, with more of the defenders joining them from other areas as they walked on.

It was shocking to Hermione and Ron to see the grounds of Hogwarts almost unrecognizable. Walls to courtyards and walkways were missing, and it was hard to tell one part of the grounds from another; more often than not, it felt like they were walking in one very large courtyard. They didn't have to go far until they faced another wall; a wall of Death Eaters, all sneering in their direction.

Voldemort walked through them to stand in front of them, and wore a sickly smile as he saw the bedraggled remnants of the Hogwarts defenders walk towards him, stopping and leaving a lot of yardage between the two opposing groups. Several more others from different parts of the castle joined the Great Hall group in the courtyard. Mrs. Weasley embraced her husband and George, Percy, Bill and Fleur, relieved to see them all still alive. Hermione, Ron and Ginny were pleased to see Luna walk to them from some part of the castle she had been in too.

Bellatrix Lestrange walked her way up to the side of her Dark Lord, giving an equally horrible smile. She looked like that most of the time, when she wasn't snarling at someone.

"I don't see Harry," Ron said in a low voice to Hermione. "Alive or dead, do you? The bastard's lying."

"You think so Weasley?" Voldemort said, pinning a stunned Ron with a look from those snake-like eyes. Apparently the Dark Lord had incredible hearing.

Hermione glanced to Ron and then back to Voldemort. As horrible and terrifying as the serpentine man was to look at, something about him made it hard to look away for long.

Ron stood up straighter. "Yeah I do," he somehow managed to say in a loud voice. "It wouldn't be the first time you lied and played tricks. Your twisted idea of chivalry is a joke."

Hermione grimaced and held onto Ron's arm, willing him to shut up.

"You filthy blood-traitor! How dare you speak to the Dark Lord like that?" Bellatrix shrieked as she pointed her wand towards them.

"Now, now Bella," Voldemort said to his most faithful follower in a calming tone, almost like he was stroking her with his voice. "We have standards to uphold, even if they show _us_ no respect."

Bellatrix lowered her wand, and dipped her head in a bow to her Lord, then turned back to scowl at Ron and then Hermione.

"You want proof?" Voldemort asked, although most people were certain it was for theatrical effect rather than actually asking a question. He would do what he liked, when he liked and didn't need to ask.

The Dark Lord clicked his fingers and one of the Death Eaters tugged his forlock in salute before scampering off behind the group of Death Eaters. He returned a few moments later and nodded to Voldemort.

"Hagrid, my dear oaf," Voldemort called over his shoulder. "Come forward and place your cargo in front of me."

The Death Eaters parted and the great bulk of Hagrid walked forward. His face was battered and bruised, streaked with tears and his clothing was torn and he was carrying what looked like a pile of clothes...

"NOOOOOOOO!" a woman screamed.

"No! Ohhh no nonono!" another one almost sobbed.

The initial reaction had come from Ginny, and was quickly followed by McGonagall, which an astonished Hermione noted.

Hermione couldn't take anything else in. She was too dumbstruck to shout, yell, or scream with grief, she was absolutely stunned. Harry dying had been one of her unvoiced possibilities a short time before, but she never truly wanted to accept it as likely.

Ginny broke free of her parents' grasp and ran forwards.

"Ginny! NOOO!" shouted Mrs. Weasley.

"Ginny!" Ron shouted, unable to even grab her arm as she had pushed past her brother.

"Let her see," Voldemort said happily, as he watched Ginny run to the limp body of Harry, where Hagrid had set him a few paces in front of him. Hermione found herself running forwards too, now.

Hagrid had tried to go forward to them, but was tugged back by the Death Eaters and was now immobilized, by both magic and ropes, but that didn't stop the big man from crying more tears.

"Hermione!" Ron yelled, and followed her.

Ginny knelt beside Harry and lifted his head onto her lap, cradling his face gently, as tears streamed down her face. Hermione knelt beside her and felt her own tears on her cheeks now.

Harry looked so peaceful, like he was asleep. He no longer looked tense, or tired or worried. Ron joined them and he too couldn't stop hot tears, dragging lines through the grime on his face as the reality hit him.

Hermione had a sudden thought that maybe Harry would come alive again, she had thought hard for a long time about the prophecy that _'Neither can live while the other survives.'_ She had also been certain that Harry himself was a horcrux of some kind. She had never voiced her opinion or discussed it with him, but through the frequent sleepless nights in recent weeks she had contemplated many theories. One theory included the fact he would have to die in order to live.

The brunette, picked up one of Harry's hands hopefully and felt around the wrist for a pulse. The magical world had amazing physicians, but sometimes they overlooked the simplest of anatomical facts. Hermione couldn't feel any pulse there, so she pressed her fingers to Harry's neck; again she felt nothing. What she _had_ felt was a lifeless body that had already started to go cold.

"What?" Ginny asked between a sob. "What are you doing?"

"I just wondered..." Hermione said, unable to voice all of it.

"He's gone," Ginny almost whispered. "I knew it from the moment I saw him."

"You see?" Voldemort said loudly nearby.

The small group of three mourners around Harry's body jumped, as they had almost forgotten that Voldemort was so close to them.

"Your 'Chosen One' is gone," the Dark Lord stated as plainly as if he was reciting a shopping list. "Even your star mudblood has verified he is dead!"

"Hey mudblood, want to join Potter?" leered a very satisfied Bellatrix at Hermione.

"Bellatrix!" Voldemort snapped. His trusty sidekick had the grace to look mildly abashed and backed off again.

Hermione had tight hold of Ron's arm, to stop him from trying to defend her, and whispered "No" at him. Thankfully he had enough wits about him for the situation they were in and kept quiet and avoided eye contact with either Bellatrix or Voldemort.

"Leave her alone, Bellatrix!"

All heads turned to see Neville walking forward with the sword of Gryffindor raised as he approached Ron, Hermione and Ginny. The Death Eaters began to laugh. Ron and Hermione looked amazed, to see Neville with the sword, wondering how he had obtained possession of it.

"What do we have here?" Voldemort chuckled.

"Longbottom, my Lord," Bellatrix said, grinning wildly, showing off her rotting teeth.

"My my, a knight in shining...knitwear," laughed the Dark Lord, setting off laughter and cackling amongst his followers.

Voldemort raised his arms and signalled for some quiet again. "I admire your courage, however misplaced it is, Longbottom. You could find a place among us if you wish?"

"Never," Neville spat. "I'd rather die than join you!"

"We'll oblige that wish soon enough my dear fellow," the Dark Lord smiled.

"Neville! Don't!" Hermione said sharply and for an awful moment she didn't think he would stand down. But Luna had walked up to them and gently placed a hand on Neville's arm, he looked at her and she shook her head slightly, after which he lowered the sword and went over to the others. He found it hard not to stare at Bellatrix though, and almost dream of avenging his parents here and now.

"This is what I offer to you all," Voldemort spoke again to everyone. "You submit to me completely and you live. If you don't, I have other less pleasant methods to deal with you. I give you half an hour to collect your dead and wounded, _again_," he said with almost an air of humour. "and then to decide your fate."

Ginny leaned over and kissed Harry's lips lightly and his forehead before gently placing his head back onto the ground. Hermione helped her to her feet.

Ron crouched over his late best friend's body and slid a hand under his shoulders and made to place the other under his legs to lift him.

"Leave him!" Voldemort snapped.

Ron looked up to the Dark Lord, startled. "You...you said we could collect our dead?"

"Not him," Voldemort smiled. "He's mine."


	3. The Unexpected

**A/N: I thought I'd post this chapter hot on the heels of the other two, as by the end of the chapter, it gives you a little hint of the direction of the main story... :)**

3: The Unexpected

Ron reluctantly lowered Harry's body to the ground again, not quite believing how this awful nightmare was still continuing.

"He's dead," Ginny sobbed, looking at the Dark Lord. "You got what you wanted, he's no threat to you now. Please..." she tailed off, as Hermione put an arm around her and Neville had an arm around her on the other side.

Voldemort regarded them as if they were entertaining him greatly, which they probably were.

"You have _less_ than half an hour now," the snake-faced man uttered. "I suggest you use it wisely," he directed to Ron, Hermione, Ginny, Luna and Neville.

The five of them backed away, not daring to turn their backs on the Dark Lord and his sneering minions. They hadn't reached their own side yet when they heard what plans Voldemort had for Harry's body.

"Nagini," the Dark Lord called softly. "Enjoy your victory spoils."

The Death Eaters parted again as the huge snake slithered through. It almost looked like it was smiling, as it made its way forward.

"NOOOOOOO!"

Neville was the one who had yelled this time, as he ran forwards again, slipping from the hand Luna still had on his arm, and Ron and Ginny unable to stop him either. He reached Harry's body again, and stood between his dead friend and the snake. Nagini raised itself up so it's head was three of four feet off the ground.

"Nagini," Voldemort almost cooed at the snake. "You have two suppers now."

"Oh no you don't!" shouted back Neville.

The snake leaned back preparing to propel itself forwards to go in for the kill at the very moment Neville raised the sword of Godric Gryffindor in a perfect arc; as if he had been trained in swordsmanship and without any noticeable effort, he severed the head off the snake's body.

Black-red blood spurted up into the air, some of it sprayed over Neville as the head and body of Nagini clattered wetly to the ground, both parts wriggling briefly before stilling forever.

"ARRRGGGGHHHH!" It was Voldemort screaming now. He held his own head as if he had the world's worst headache. He dropped to his knees, and several Death Eaters encircled him wands drawn and about to curse Neville.

_"Protego Maxima!" _shouted several voices behind Neville.

A large thick protective magical shield, almost like a bubble, appeared between Neville and the line of Death Eaters.

Neville Longbottom looked on in shock, he couldn't believe what he had just done. He stood there, rooted to the spot, looking at the sword and then at the severed snake's body. "I did it, Harry," he said, hoping his late friend could hear him somewhere. "I killed the snake for you!"

Ron, George and Mr. Weasley were at his side soon afterwards, and it seemed several of the Hogwarts side had walked forwards after him and cast the _protego_ defensive charm as soon as they saw things taking an unexpected turn.

It seemed the half an hour of truce was broken and no longer existed now, as the Death Eaters were attempting to attack the shielding charm and already battle could be heard in another part of the castle again. Voldemort shrugged off any help offered to him and stalked away, a trail of his closest Death Eaters scurrying after him.

"Bloody fantastic!" Ron said, slapping Neville on the back. "Come on, we need to get back inside."

Mr. Weasley and George solemnly lifted Harry's body and carried it inside, partly using a levitation spell. Everyone made way as they escorted him through to the Great Hall. Several people were crying, and some reached out and touched Harry as he went past. They laid him next to Fred.

Luna went over to Harry's body and folded his arms across his chest, gently brushed back his hair, which was still unruly even though he was now deceased, and straightened his glasses. "There, he's just taking a nap," she said, which oddly made everyone feel better, even though it was beyond doubt that the young man was tragically dead.

"This is it, isn't it?" George said to the people around them.

No one had to question what the surviving Weasley twin meant by that comment. The old saying of '_kill or be killed'_ had taken on a much more real philosophy now.

Hermione still had an arm around Ginny, but wasn't paying much attention to anything the people around her were saying. She had watched numbly as Luna had made Harry's body more comfortable. That is to say, more comfortable for the people around him to look upon, Harry himself wouldn't have a clue if he was comfortable or not.

Ron was with Neville as they examined the sword of Gryffindor, observing that the snake's blood had disappeared from the blade, although Neville himself hadn't cleaned it. The sword had absorbed the mystical powers of the snake. He was explaining to Ron and the others nearby, that he had found the Sorting Hat out in the Entrance Hall as they made their way outside and when he picked it up and had said "Some bloody use you are!" the hilt of the sword appeared, and he drew it from the hat. Everyone was astonished by the tale but none were in any doubt of Neville's true Gryffindor courage, and never had been.

Ginny wasn't sobbing anymore, it was like she couldn't cry anymore tears and had none left. She stood upright and determined, even though she knew in the very near future she might be joining Harry wherever it was his soul had gone.

Some big explosions sounded again from around the castle, making the floor tremble once more.

_I think the time has come_, thought Hermione. She removed her arm from around Ginny and turned to walk away.

"Where are you going?" Ginny asked.

"I need to talk to Professor McGonagall," Hermione told her truthfully, as Ginny watched her walk over to their leader and current Headmistress, even if that title wasn't official yet.

As Hermione approached McGonagall, the witch was talking with some aurors; very few had been able to get to Hogwarts, but the ones who had arrived from the Order and their colleagues, had been gratefully received. Hermione caught the end of some directions the Headmistress was giving them about the use of a secret passage to get to and from the Dungeons to the Seventh Floor.

"Professor?" Hermione said to get her attention."I think it's time, don't you?" Hermione lowered her voice. "For the other _thing_?"

Minerva McGonagall looked at the young woman before her. "Professor Flitwick was coming to find you any minute, in fact."

"So it _is_ time?" Hermione asked, suddenly feeling a shiver of apprehension travel the length of her spine.

Professor Flitwick came over to them, after having instructed Professor Slughorn and his small group of students to work on keeping the shield charms up and running.

"Miss Granger," Flitwick said. "I think you could say we need something more now." The tiny man looked tired and drained, which was unusual in a man with such boundless enthusiasm and energy, normally.

"Well, you had better hurry up and tell me what it is you want me to do, hadn't you?" Hermione asked.

"Filius I leave you in charge here," McGonagall said to Flitwick. "Hermione, come with me."

The older woman led the way through the gaggle of students to the Great Hall's doors. They waited to one side for some people carrying in two wounded students, Hermione wasn't paying much attention to who they were, as she was looking back towards where the Weasley's were standing and sitting, nearby to the bodies of Harry and Fred. She looked at Ron and wondered if she would see him again, or Ginny, or Luna, or any of them. As of yet, she had no idea what this secret plan was, but it was more than likely going to be dangerous.

Professor McGonagall touched her shoulder to signal that they could walk on now. Hermione turned and followed. Several people had watched her with the Headmistress and most assumed she was getting instructions for more of the defence.

They hadn't walked far when Hermione realized they were going to the Headmaster's Office, or in this case the Headmistress's Office now.

What was left of the stone sentinel didn't seem to need a password anymore and simply opened the way for McGonagall as she strode purposely towards the opening to the stairs for the Office.

As they entered the main office, the door closing behind them, Hermione looked at the portraits of the former Heads of the school. All we empty, even Dumbledore was absent, and she suspected he was looking at things around the school, giving encouragement and ideas to anyone nearby to the paintings he decided to inhabit.

McGonagall went over to one wall, raised her wand and moved a large cabinet to one side, which held all manner of instruments; she then tapped some bricks on the wall behind. As Hermione watched a very small cabinet door appeared. The older witch opened it and retrieved something from inside, before walking back to the desk with it.

"We put this in here only this morning, knowing that we would need to keep it safe. We've been changing the placement of it every day," she told Hermione. "We assumed you would be coming back here, that things would culminate at Hogwarts. We truly hoped you would be coming back here, anyway."

A booming explosion made impact with the walls of the office, dislodging some jars from the top shelf of another cabinet, which smashed as they hit the floor.

"Hermione," McGonagall said, drawing the brunette's attention back. "I believe you're familiar with this item?"

Hermione looked at the object on the desk. "Yes, of course I am, it's the Time-Turner," she said, suddenly becoming very uneasy as she stood there.

"Perhaps you can understand already why we were reluctant to resort to this unless we had to?"

"Yes," Hermione answered. "But, you can't mean for me to go back and change things, like the moment of Harry's death, surely? My goodness I would love to but, after all the warnings you gave me when I used it before?"

"No, it would indeed be very foolish of us to send you back to change something immense like that, in that way. You might come back and find that Hogwarts doesn't exist or even more unimaginable things. Not only would we risk setting off events which were never meant to be, but we would risk damaging the very fabric of time itself."

"So what do you need me to do? Or, perhaps, what _can_ I do?"

"We need you to bring _something_ back," McGonagall told her, still a little mysteriously.

Another blast to somewhere in the castle, made Hermione lurch forwards and have to lean on the desk to steady her feet.

"How far back am I going? How many 'turns'?" Hermione asked, pointing at the Time-Turner.

"A few years back, but you won't be 'turning' the Time-Turner, exactly," McGonagall said. She held up the instrument for Hermione to see, and she saw that it no longer held a small hour glass but what looked like a diamond.

"Professor Flitwick and myself have been working on this and we have developed and charmed the Time-Turner to go to a specific time and place," explained McGonagall continuing on, cutting off any question Hermione was about to ask. "After that initial place, should you need to go somewhere else, simply say the date and place you need to go followed by _"Movere"_ and it will take you there. It is set to know your final destination, which is back here at the very moment you left. To get back here, you need to say _"Reditus". _Although I should warn you, that you should keep the number of journeys you make to a minimum for obvious reasons and once you have used the "Reditius" command the Time-Turner will probably not work anymore. That part we're unsure about, but we've assumed once you return to here the charms on the instrument will expire."

"Right," Hermione said. "This is all wonderful, but do you think you could tell me what on earth I'm supposed be doing back in time?"

"Yes, I'd like to know that too, before you walk out on us?"

Hermione spun around and drew her wand the same time as McGonagall had. They were both surprised to be faced by an annoyed-looking Ginny.

"Miss Weasley, how did you get up here?" McGonagall asked, flustered.

"Through the door, like you two. No password is needed now," Ginny said, still slightly glaring. "So are you going to tell me where you're going Hermione? Were you even going to say goodbye?"

"I don't know where I'm going yet, because you barged in before I was told," Hermione replied, a little rattled. "I couldn't say goodbye, because Ron would probably try to stop me."

"Yes he would, and I might still," the redhead said firmly.

"I'm not going on holiday, you know!" an exasperated Hermione said.

"You're still going to leave us, aren't you? Leave us to our fate?" Ginny said.

"Ginny, Hermione is going on a very risky, and potentially dangerous mission for us. She has experience with the Time-Turner and she agreed to help if everything else had failed. With Harry...with Harry Potter gone, it has reached a very serious situation; a situation that requires the unexpected." Professor McGonagall explained tiredly.

"You agreed to it? Did you tell Ron _anything_ at all?" Ginny asked Hermione.

"Yes I agreed to it, although I didn't know it would be the Time-Turner until just now. And no, I haven't told Ron anything about my agreeing to a plan, because, as I said, he would try to stop me. This isn't about me, or him anymore, this is about Hogwarts and about all the decent people in the magical world. I have to try to help, if I can," the brunette explained.

Ginny looked at Hermione and McGonagall thoughtfully. "All right," she said. "Then I'm going too!"

"Ginny!" Hermione exclaimed. "You can't."

"Out of the question!" McGonagall said. "Your mother would hex me on the spot. She's just lost a son, we can't take her only daughter too!"

"In case you both haven't noticed," Ginny said, not caring if she wasn't being entirely respectful to their Head of House and Headmistress. "I've lost my brother _and_ my boyfriend! What is the point of their deaths if all I do is sit around and weep. I want to do something, I know I'm capable...as does Hermione." She fixed Hermione with a stare, daring her to say otherwise. "I need to make sense of this and do something to make their deaths matter in the best way I can."

"And what do I tell your parents? Hmm?" McGonagall asked. _"I've just sent your daughter off on a dangerous mission because she told me she wanted to go?"_

"Yes!" said a resolute Ginny. "Tell them the truth."

Hermione could see the resolve in Ginny and like all the Weasley's, she had a stubborn streak which was hard to break through. Before Ginny had barged into the office, it would have been an almost preposterous idea to take the redhead with her, but thinking on it now, Hermione began to wonder whether it would be nice to have some company on her mission. And Ginny _was_ a very capable witch. In a lot of ways, with the laws of time, they may not appear to be gone for long, if at all, to anyone else; that was banking on their safe return, or their return at all.

They were awakened from their deep thoughts as another huge explosion sounded nearby, seeming to rock the foundations of the whole castle. Professor McGonagall went to a window and gasped. "Ravenclaw Tower. It's collapsed! Gone!"

Ginny and Hermione ran to the window and looked on in horror.

"Okay," said Hermione with a curt nod to herself. "If I'm going to do this thing I need to get going, now."

"Take me with you, please?" Ginny pleaded. "Hermione, please?"

They all heard a scuffling sound down the stairwell from the office, and curses being thrown. Then there was a loud thump followed by an ear-shattering exploding noise, which resulted in all three of them getting showered in plaster and fragments of roof tile. They gazed up and saw a hole in the roof. They were all in danger from below and above now.

"She can come with me!" Hermione suddenly decided.

Ginny actually smiled, something she hadn't been able to do for a very long time, as Hermione picked up the Time-Turner and placed the long chain around both of their necks.

"Right," said Hermione. "Now what is it we have to do?"

McGonagall looked at Ginny regretfully, probably dreading the reception she would get from Molly Weasley when the time came. She walked over to them, gave the Time-Turner a little check, by hovering her wand over it.

"I still don't like this," the Headmistress said looking at Ginny, but speaking to Hermione. "One of her older brothers would have been preferable if someone had to go with you."

"Well, they're not here and Ginny is. Come on Professor, we need to get going. Now!" Hermione nearly yelled as the battle down the stairwell sounded closer.

"You will have to work out a lot of things yourself because we of course, do not know _exactly_ what you will find or stumble upon. Try to talk to Dumbledore when you can. If you're unable to, then it will be more difficult, but the whole mission is connected to..."

_BOOOOOOOMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM_

It seemed like it was in slow motion as the whole of one wall in the office exploded, spraying them with stones, bricks, and objects from the cabinets. Hermione and Ginny were thrown to the floor, still miraculously joined by the Time-Turner's long chain. Suffering only minor cuts and bruises, they both scrabbled to their feet only to see Professor McGonagall sprawled on the floor, with blood oozing from her forehead.

"Professor!" Hermione shouted. She was about to take the Time-Turner chain off her neck again to go to McGonagall's aid, but the old witch stirred.

"Go now...you...you have to go now," the woman croaked.

There were noises just outside the door now, the battle was about to burst through the door in nearly the same manner as the wall had.

"No time...to explain," McGonagall said panting and in pain, putting a hand to her head, dazed. "Forgive me."

The door burst open and Kingsley Shacklebolt backed in, fighting off two Death Eaters. McGonagall weakly lifted her wand and pointed at the Time-Turner between the two young women.

"Bring...bring...hmmm...back," McGonagall struggled to say before a light shot out from her wand and touched the Time-Turner. With Hermione tightly holding Ginny's hand, the office and the castle dissolved around them, the noise of battle along with it.

This was different to all the times Hermione had used the Time-Turner device before. This had more of the sensation of a port key, with a feeling of travelling through a very long, dark and airless tunnel. After what seemed like ten minutes, but was probably more countable in seconds, the two girls felt their feet touch the ground and stumbled over, making a large _thump_.

"That was different," Hermione said in a quiet voice, rolling slightly to sit up.

"Different?" Ginny answered, just as quietly. "Merlin's baggy pants! That was insane!"

Hermione didn't move for a moment and sat on the ground looking around. She removed the Time-Turner's long chain from around their necks, and put it carefully into her pocket.

Wherever they had been sent, it was night time, possibly very early morning and a little chilly, and from her place on the ground they could see the outline of a building nearby and lots of little, what looked like, boxes, standing around them.

Hermione rubbed her eyes and as she became accustomed to the darkness, she saw what those boxes were.

"We're in a churchyard," she said in a whisper to Ginny. "I thought they were boxes, but they're gravestones and tombs, and that makes the building a church."

"Great," said Ginny, quietly. "More bloody dead people."


	4. Bearings

**A/N: In this chapter, I've let Hermione show off her "know it all" knowledge a bit. :) :D **

4: Bearings

The darkness of night always made things look different and that much more creepy and uncertain, and being in a dark churchyard amongst gravestones didn't help to lessen the feeling.

"We're going to have to try and work out where we are," Hermione said in a low, soft voice to Ginny. "But we'll have to be very quiet and very careful. As well as not knowing where we are or what the date is, we have no idea just what we've landed into the middle of. Oh, and I think it's safest if we only refer to You Know Who _as_ 'You Know Who', as his name was taboo from our time, there's no telling what the name might do across the timeline."

"Okay. You lead on," Ginny replied. "I'll do whatever you say."

Hermione nearly laughed, because what Ginny had said was the last thing she ever expected a member of the Weasley family to say.

They both stood up slowly, and Hermione turned her head this way and that to try and listen for any sounds. Whether it was for the presence of people or animals. After a few moments, hearing nothing more than a fox some way off, and an owl hooting in a nearby tree, Hermione linked her arm through Ginny's and walked forward towards the church.

The pair's footsteps sounded extra loud as they walked over twigs and onto a gravel path. In desperation to be stealthy and with a raised level of alertness, everything sounded abnormally loud.

"Where are we going?" Ginny asked in a whisper.

"To find the porch," Hermione answered. "There are usually posters and leaflets pinned up in church porches, and from there we might get an idea of where we are, and the date."

"How do you know where the porch is?"

"As we walked towards the building I saw a large window at the end facing us, making that the eastern end, so a porch is usually on either the north or south sides," explained Hermione, still in a hushed voice.

"How do you know that?" Ginny asked, impressed.

"We studied old churches at Primary School once; before Hogwarts. They all look slightly different on the outside, but the position and parts are usually the same."

They walked slowly on, with the two women edging off onto the grass to stop the crunching sounds of the gravel on the path. Walking along the side of the church, both of them noted the darker patches for the window recesses and the buttresses casting equally atmospheric alcoves of shadows. A small bit of building, outlined in dark silhouette, appeared to jut out ahead and it was likely it was the porch that they sought. But it was then that Hermione suddenly stopped, causing Ginny to clash into her side and nearly fall over.

"What?" Ginny whispered, warily.

"This is familiar," said Hermione, looking up at the building.

"Well, you said yourself, these churches all look similar."

"No, it's not that. Just a moment," Hermione turned and looked back the way they had come, then turned to look at the church building again. "I wonder?"

"What?" Ginny asked again.

"I won't know for sure until I look at something," the brunette said.

She grasped hold of Ginny's hand and got her to walk with her partly back the way they had come, before turning off between a row of graves. Whether holding her hand was to comfort Ginny or herself, Hermione didn't know for sure.

They walked along a long row of graves, occasionally halting to listen for any sign of life around them. The walking wasn't always easy due to the uneven ground, a lot of it from the subsided ground of graves, along with lumps and bumps and areas that had so obviously been touched by the digging feet of rabbits.

Hermione stopped at a gravestone; giving a cautious look around the churchyard she wordlessly lit the tip of her wand and leaned over to study the stone, the light was just enough to see some of the lettering on it. Giving a small "Hmm" she moved to the next gravestone, and then the next one. To Ginny it looked as though her friend was looking for something she thought should be there, or she knew to be there.

It was at the third gravestone that Hermione stopped for longer, before lifting her head and looking at the church building; but she wasn't really looking at it, her mind was racing in all directions.

"I was right," Hermione said to Ginny, aware that her friend was staring at her bewildered. "I'm not sure how I feel about that."

"What are you right about? Who is it?" Ginny asked as she guided Hermione's wand hand back to the stone to read some of the words engraved there for herself. "Kendra Dum...DUMBLEDORE?"

"Sshh."

"Sorry," Ginny whispered, clapping a hand to her mouth as she read further down the gravestone in a very quiet voice. "_'And her daughter Ariana'._ AND Dumbledore's sister? The one who was in the painting at the Hog's head? Then this is..."

"Yes, it's Godric's Hollow," Hermione confirmed.

"But...but they died around the turn of the 20th century didn't they? I seem to remember reading or hearing that Ariana died in about 1900." Ginny said softly, before she suddenly had a horrifying thought. "Tell me we're not that far back and that grave isn't fresh? Please?"

Hermione lowered her wand hand to investigate the ground around the stone. It was fairly flat, with a good covering of grass and no cut marks from turf being removed and replaced in recent times. There was a sinking subsidence to the ground which covered the six feet of earth over poor Ariana's and Kendra's coffins.

"It's not fresh," Hermione said. "It's been here a long time. It doesn't help us know much about the date, but it's not 1900 or even 1905 at least."

"Hermione? Are...are Harry's parents buried here?" Ginny wondered.

"Yes," the brunette answered. "Ha...Harry and I found them on Christmas Eve." It seemed it was impossible to avoid speaking her best friend's name, even had she wanted to. "They're over in that direction," she said, pointing her arm in the direction of a boundary hedge, several rows away.

"Let's go to them," Ginny said. "I feel we ought to. Then at least we can confirm we're not too far back in time as well."

"Good idea," Hermione said, as the two women linked arms again.

They walked for a time, both feeling strange to be visiting this grave, knowing that they had left Harry, the son his parents had fought so hard to keep safe, dead at Hogwarts.

Reaching the row Hermione remembered vividly, she walked along it. She turned to look at the dark shadows of old gnarled trees and the position of the building and knew that the grave was here. Turning back to the row she prepared herself to see the names of James and Lily Potter again, feeling almost like she had let them down in not helping to keep their son alive.

"They should be...here," Hermione said, confused, as she was faced with no grave at all, just an area of brambly overgrown nothingness.

"Are you sure you've got the right row?" Ginny asked, not managing to keep the nervousness from her voice. The light puffs of mist as they spoke, didn't help to douse the nerves and eerie feeling of the whole predicament they were in.

"They _should_ be here. I remember that big elaborate old tomb at the beginning of the row. We passed that, so we're in the right row."

"Well, that answers something, doesn't it?" the redhead voiced, slightly glumly.

"We've been sent back to a time before the Potters were killed," Hermione put a hand to her face, rubbed an eye then her forehead, as if it would help her to see more clearly or think better.

"So we've established we're not in 1900, and probably not for several years after that, but before 1981, right?" Ginny summarized.

"Hmm," Hermione answered, nodding.

"At least we know where we are," said the red-haired girl in an attempt to remain positive. "It's more than we knew several minutes ago when McGonagall dumped us here."

Hermione smiled at her friend. "You're right," she sighed. "We need to try and work out the date soon though, because when daylight comes, we might look hideously out of place. Let's go back to finding the porch. Now I know where we are, I remember the main porch entrance being on the south side, so that outline of a bit of the building sticking out, was definitely it," she said, pointing back in the direction of the gravel path again.

"Hermione?" Ginny got her friend's attention again as they began walking to the porch. "Godric's Hollow has always been a large village, well large-ish, right?"

"Yes. Why do you ask?"

"Well, I know a lot of villages don't have muggle or magical street lamps, but don't you think it's all a bit dark? No lights shining from anywhere?"

"It could be the early hours of the morning. The church doesn't have a clock as far as I can see, so I don't know. We don't know what season it is either, and it's a little cloudy so I can't even begin to work out the placement of the stars to get an idea of it."

"Even if it's say, three o'clock in the morning, you would expect to see one light somewhere, or if we're a long way back at least a fire or a fire's embers showing a glow somewhere, surely?" Ginny voiced, continuing her line of thought.

"I don't know," Hermione answered. "It does seem odd."

Hermione didn't like not knowing the answer to something and Ginny also didn't like Hermione not knowing the answer to something. It set both girls more on edge.

As they were walking along the side of the church again, they could just see the outline of the small porch ahead. They were about ten yards from it when they heard a noise, like a low rumble in the distance.

"Thunder?" Hermione asked, as they stopped to listen hard.

Whatever it was, it hadn't stopped and was a constant sound with no break.

"That's like no thunder I've ever heard," said Ginny, reaching for Hermione's arm, to draw some strength from her friend.

The rumbling noise continued and seemed to be getting louder, as if something was gradually coming closer.

"Hermione, I don't like this!"

"You're not the only one," the brunette admitted, equally confused and nervous. "Let's get to the porch."

They continued walking, arms linked once more and as close together as was possible, as the rumbling seemingly crawled closer.

As they reached the entrance to the porch, aware of the thundering noise edging steadily closer still, they then began to hear a series of booming noises, like someone rolling a huge empty oil drum down a hill. And in the near distance on the horizon the sky kept lighting up as if from sheet lightning.

Ginny sat down on one of the small benches that lined either side of the porch. Hermione walked up to the church door and with a very small light from her wand, she looked at a leaflet pinned to the door itself.

"Oh," said Hermione, after a few moments, giving a deep sigh.

"What does it say?" Ginny asked eagerly, hoping for anything to distract her from the unknown noises outside. She had begun to feel cold and wrapped her arms about herself; some of the cold she was feeling was from the situation they found themselves in, some of it from the night air.

"I'm not sure you want to know," Hermione said very slowly.

"Of course I do!"

"Well, that leaflet has not only answered the date, but what that noise is too," said Hermione as she slumped down to sit on the bench opposite Ginny. "We're back in World War Two."

"World War Two?" Ginny asked, confused. "I feel I should know about that, but I can't remember anything about it? Besides, how would the leaflet answer the date _and_ what all that blasted noise is?"

Hermione took a moment and tried to think of the most concise way she could explain such a monumental period in history in a few sentences.

"World War Two was a large muggle war, which basically involved the whole muggle world," she began. "Initially it involved Germany and their little deranged leader Hitler, trying to take control and conquer all of Europe. Poland, France, Belgium, Holland and so on, even parts of Africa, and Britain opposed it and fought back with their Allies, the ones able to fight it anyway. In later years America joined the war on the Allies side, after Japan started to cause trouble too. Anyway, from that poster I can tell you we're in 1943, two years before the end of it, and that noise is very likely a German bombing raid. Muggle aircraft, used to fly over and drop bombs. We're probably hearing gunfire or even anti-aircraft positions firing shells into the sky, miles away, which would explain that flashing on the horizon. If it was a formation of our own bombers flying away, we obviously wouldn't be firing at them."

"Oh," was all Ginny could answer, initially. "1943? War? So we've just come from war and carnage to more war and carnage?"

"Looks like it," Hermione answered, feeling weary. "Think of Hitler as the muggle version of You Know Who, even down to both having a complex over pure-blood heritage and, yes, basically it's the same type of situation here. Certainly, many innocent people on all sides lived through hell and lost their lives."

They were silent for a while, deep in their own thoughts, both wondering what on earth they had been sent back to and why.

Suddenly they heard some very loud sounds roaring over their heads. It was a different sound not so deep as the other rumblings and Hermione knew that at least three or four small aircraft had flown over them or nearby.

"Hermione?" asked a nearly shaking Ginny. "What was that?"

"I think it was smaller planes, which means it might be our fighters going to intercept the bombers."

The noise of the heavy bombers increased and it seemed certain that they were going to fly over the very village, or near to it, as both young women could feel the stone floor of the porch tremble with vibrations. Hermione got up and sat next to Ginny, and put an arm around her, huddling up to her, feeling just as scared and lost as the redhead and a little cold herself. Neither said anything, because it would have been hard to be heard over the noise above.

Every time a fighter, most likely a Spitfire or Hurricane, apparently fired rounds at a bomber Ginny and Hermione flinched, almost as if they could feel the bullets bouncing off the porch they were sheltering in. The action was probably not that near in reality, but the previously silent night air echoed every sound that much louder. After several minutes the rumbling had started to lessen a little again.

"Why didn't they bomb us?" Ginny asked, once the noise of the aircraft had receded to the distance again.

"There's nothing here to bomb."

"What about the church? It's a big building?"

"Not a strategic place though,"said Hermione. "Those bombers were probably heading to, or came from, one of the cities or an airfield. They always tried to knock out the strengths of the country. Airfields, factories, docks, industry in general. Sometimes stray bombers would just drop their bombs on any old place, but thankfully, I never remember reading that Godric's Hollow ever got bombed. If we had to be anywhere, here isn't a bad place, all things considered."

"That's something, I suppose," Ginny replied, a little wide-eyed. "Are you an expert on this war then?"

"Another thing we studied at Primary School," Hermione said. "Also, my late Grandad was in the army during the War and he used to tell me things. Grandma was always telling me things about living through the 1940's. Anything from how they dealt with the food rationing and finding all kinds of things to do with potatoes, to dealing with annoying ARP wardens."

"Potatoes?" Ginny chuckled softly.

"Food was rationed so much that you had to substitute ingredients for something else. Sometimes they would mash up potatoes to add to flour to make the flour go further and any pastry then became more filling too."

"What's an ARP warden?" asked a quizzical redhead; they were both still almost whispering.

Hermione gave a soft laugh, mainly because she was so happy to be using her knowledge and talking about things she knew about, rather than guessing or wondering about things, which they had been doing ever since arriving here. "ARP stands for 'Air Raid Precations'. The wardens used to patrol the streets and make sure everyone had their windows blackened out with curtains and screens so no light was visible at night. That's why it's so dark in this village. Although they're unlikely to be bombed here, and never were, it's still best not to attract attention with lights, that's what was known as the 'Blackout'. The wardens also used to help by getting people to shelters and helping the public in general."

"There's so much the magical world doesn't take notice of," said Ginny, thoughtfully.

"Sadly, that's true. The magical world sometimes ignores things in their own world too and then we wonder why we get problems?" Hermione shook her head. "Anyway, we know we're in Godric's Hollow in 1943. It's a start."

"Er, Hermione...your grandparents."

"What about them?"

"Well, they'd be alive...here," said Ginny. "In this time period."

"I hadn't thought about that, but you're right," Hermione said, then gave a small sigh. "I can imagine what you're thinking and you're possibly even wondering about your own ancestors too, but we can't be distracted by thoughts of seeing them. Also, it would be extremely dangerous for us to meet them."

"I know that," said Ginny sadly. "It's just so strange to think of them here, and not that much older than ourselves."

"It turns the brain into knots doesn't it?" said Hermione a little wearily. She would have loved to have seen her grandparents again, but knew only too well the high risks with it. It could greatly harm her own future and even her own existence.

"What on earth does McGonagall want us to do here?" said Ginny, bringing Hermione back to their current position.

"I'm not sure. She said a couple of times about bringing something back, but never got a chance to say what."

"She said it was all connected to...what? And to bring something back?" Ginny thought outloud.

"It's 'vague' at its most vague," Hermione said."What I do know, is that we have to be careful with our every action. We can't alter lots of things. It's almost like trying to walk in the snow and not leave footprints."

"Oh well, this will be easy then." Ginny said drily.


	5. Birds of a Feather

5: Birds of a Feather

The last of the rumble from the group of bombers and fighter aircraft had finally gone, and despite all Hermione knew, she still felt her shoulders drop slightly when the noise was gone; the tension dropping away, until she remembered where they were again.

It was chilly, with a dampness that always seemed to be apparent at night and especially anywhere around an old church.

Reaching into her pocket Hermione pulled out the Time-Turner again, staring at it as if she could discover the answers they so desperately needed and sought by just looking at it, as it glinted back at her faintly in the lightening dawn. How simple it would be, to voice the command and just go back to Hogwarts. _But what would we go back to? _she thought,_ Destruction, suffering, grief and no end in sight, except death itself, and only that after a lot more suffering, in all probability._

Hermione reached into her other pocket and pulled out her small beaded bag. Not only was it charmed to hold everything and anything in it, but from the moment she got back to Hogwarts she had shrunk the outer surface of it too. Something had told her she would have need of it and if it could be shoved into a pocket, all the better.

Ginny sensed the movement next to her, and turned to see Hermione put the Time-Turner into the bag.

"Do you always have that bag with you?" Ginny asked in a whisper, bemused.

"Yes," Hermione said. "I can fit it in a pocket, but it can hold everything and anything. It kept everything Ron and...well, it kept everything we all needed for months. I'd feel a little lost without it."

It had been so recently that Ron, Harry and herself had all been together hiding out, and being reminded again that Harry was now gone, wasn't pleasant. She had thought they might avoid talking about him, and maybe if they did, they could think it was a bad dream and they would go back to Hogwarts to see him rushing over to them, or scolding them for risking their lives for him. He was gone, and that was that. They had to try and make his sacrifice count now, and help the living.

Remembering their small cuts and bruises from the last moments back at Hogwarts, Hermione retrieved from the bag her slightly depleted bottle of dittany. She got Ginny to look at her while she held her faintly lit wand up to check her friend's face, dabbing some of the potion onto a couple of tiny nicks on Ginny's cheek and forehead. The redhead grimaced as the dittany stung, but it immediately healed up the small wounds. Hermione then got Ginny to do the same for her, before they both attended to a couple of cuts to their hands. Hermione would be the first to admit that she wasn't the world's best healing witch, yet, but a few cuts weren't much of a problem when she had some dittany at hand.

Knowing they probably both looked a bit grubby and dishevelled, Hermione waved her wand over a surprised Ginny, and then over herself, using a variation in strength of the _tergeo _spell. At least they wouldn't look like tramps now.

Hermione rummaged her hand back into the bag and pulled out a thick woollen sweater. It was Ron's, but she handed it to Ginny. "Here. This should make you feel warmer. I know you don't like Ron's clothes, but we can't be choosy."

Ginny faintly lit the end of her own wand and began studying the garment, turning it over in her hands, as if it were a dog she was checking for fleas.

"It won't bite, Ginny!" Hermione snorted.

"I was just making sure it wasn't one of those sweaters with a huge 'R' on the front, because I can tell you now, I'm not going to start modelling prat-wear, however cold or dire our situation is!"

"I didn't pack any of those ones." Hermione said, chuckling. "If you're on the run, you don't want to give the opposition a hint of your name."

Hermione rummaged in the bag a bit further and pulled out a thick fleece, was about to put it on, then stopped. She put it back and pulled out a cable knit sweater instead.

"What was wrong with the other one?" Ginny asked, curious.

"I don't think they had modern fleeces in 1943."

"I hadn't thought about all that," said Ginny. "What _did_ people wear in 1943?"

"A lot of the muggles were in military uniform, the women too. The rest...well...don't take this the wrong way, but your family would have fit right in without turning too many heads...providing they didn't do magic, anyway." Hermione grimaced slightly, because making fun of, or insulting the Weasley's way of dressing was the furthest thing from her mind.

"Oh," Ginny answered, not sure how to take that information herself.

"Even clothing was rationed, and most people in villages like this had to make their own clothes and patch up what they had," Hermione added. "On the bright side, we shouldn't look too out of place."

"Why send us to 1943, Hermione?"

"I don't know yet," the brunette replied, running a hand through her hair. "I'm trying to wrack my brains for anything that I remember in magical history for 1943. I have books in my bag, but I've read _'A History of Magic' _many times, and I just don't remember this year for anything special. Admittedly my brain is a bit loopy at the moment."

"So the other question is, why Godric's Hollow?"

"Again, I don't know yet. It might be it was the safest place to send us, because it _is_ a village with magical ties and we would cause less panic. Another reason we arrived at night, I suppose."

As they sat in the church porch and looked out they could see the sky lightening more. They would soon have to deal with being visible and possibly meeting other people.

"We need to plan our next move," Hermione said.

"How? How do we do that, when we don't know why we're here and what we're looking for?"

"I think we need to take McGonagall's advice."

"Her advice? She didn't give us any bloody advice!" Ginny said, a little louder. The lightening sky had made them both feel a bit more comfortable to talk louder than a whisper now.

"She said, to talk to Dumbledore," Hermione told her. "We're in his home village, so maybe we should try and find him?"

"When was he made Headmaster of Hogwarts?"

"Hogwarts? 1943!" Hermione suddenly gasped.

"Was he made Headmaster that year?" Ginny asked, wondering why Hermione sounded so astounded by it.

"I'm so slow sometimes, of course 1943, of course Hogwarts!"

"Yes? What about it?" Ginny asked, getting a little impatient.

"That was the year when the Chamber of Secrets was opened! When Moaning Myrtle was killed."

Ginny audibly groaned. "Tell me we don't have go down in that Chamber again!"

"No," Hermione said, deep in thought again. "At least I don't think we will. It's not just the Chamber. From everything Ha...," she stumbled on her late friend's name again. "Harry told me, You Know Who created maybe two horcruxes the year the Chamber was opened. You Know Who murdered his muggle father and grandparents in 1943 as well as opening the Chamber and the incident with Myrtle."

Hermione briefly explained the story around the horcruxes and what they were, and that was what Harry, Ron and herself had been looking for the past few months. Thankfully Ginny soon caught on and understood the basic concept of them straight away.

"This just gets better and better," said a sarcastic Ginny. "Are we supposed to warn his family or fight off You Know Who, before he does it?"

"That would be altering things too far, and as much as it would be nice to help some innocent people, we can't do it," Hermione considered. "But I'm sure it's all got something to do with why we're here in 1943 though...maybe."

"We obviously don't try to save Myrtle either, then?" Ginny asked, going through all the possibilities.

"No, that would change things too much again," Hermione answered, thoughtfully. "There were times when she was able to help Harry and us, so sadly she will have to remain a victim."

"Something tells me Myrtle did as much moaning alive as she did dead!" said Ginny with scorn. "I don't mean I _want_ her to die or stay dead," she quickly added.

"I know what you meant Ginny," said Hermione. "She does rather grate on the nerves doesn't she?"

Hermione didn't like the fact that they literally had the power over life and death here. If they wanted to they _could_ save Myrtle, if she wasn't already dead, but it was an area that McGonagall and Dumbledore had made slightly easier, by the strict lecture they had given her when she first had the Time-Turner in her Third Year at Hogwarts. If they kept to those rules and remained aware of them, it should help them reach the correct course of action every time.

"Okay, thinking back to Dumbledore. He would be teaching at Hogwarts, so he won't be living here, will he?" asked Ginny, as she was wracking her brains for answers too.

"He wasn't made Headmaster until the 1950s, but he was still a teacher there. Hmm. It depends what time of year it is."

"Didn't that leaflet on the door tell you?"

"No," Hermione answered. "There was a list of all the main special dates for the year, so there's no knowing what has been and gone yet. I don't think it's summer, going by the chilly air, but from what I can hear and see, there's not a lot of leaves on the trees, so it's either winter, late autumn or early spring."

"Well, that narrows it down," said Ginny, with another helping of sarcasm. "Should we look for the Dumbledore house? Even if he hasn't lived there for years, it might be a place to start?" Ginny suggested.

"I agree," Hermione nodded. "We'll need to walk through the village and past the War Memorial as the magical part of the village is all at the other end."

It was surprising what a plan of action did for confidence; knowing the direction you were taking; literally, in this case. Naturally, any plan could get changed suddenly and dramatically beyond your control, but every course of action had to start somewhere.

It was light enough now to consider it early morning, and smoke could now be seen clearly coming from one or two chimneys in the village, which itself was clear to see now too.

Ginny and Hermione walked down the church path and through the lychgate. Like most lychgates it had a little porch-like roof over the double kissing-gates. Knowledge and facts were something that always made Hermione feel calm and now was no different. As she closed the gate behind them she said. "Do you know what they used to use those gates for and why it has a little roof?"

"No, but I'm sure you're about to tell me?" said Ginny, smirking. Deep down she was glad of the talking, because it made her feel calmer too.

"In times past, this is where they used to rest the coffin, before funerals, where the priest would come out to meet it and check the death certificate for burial," said Hermione, as they began to walk down the village mainstreet.

"How lovely!" Ginny said. "Somehow we don't seem to be able to get away from dead things, do we?" she grimaced.

"Sorry Gin," Hermione looked down at the path. "I didn't think."

"It's okay," the redhead said. "We can hardly avoid the facts that have happened, can we? I just hope that we get a chance, one day, when death doesn't seem to be hovering over us and our families."

Hermione touched Ginny's arm. "Yes, I want that too, more than anything."

As they walked, they passed a small Post Office, which doubled up as the village shop. The Post Mistress was taking the blinds up and beginning to open up, and seemed too busy to take much notice of two strangers walking through the village. The shop looked very sparse, with potatoes, swedes, turnips and some small onions as the only vegetables for sale in the small crates the woman had placed outside the door. There were posters up in the door and windows, one reminded people to have their ration books ready and another asking people to knit socks and gloves for the troops.

Hermione would have liked to have walked closer by the Post Office to see if there was any sign of a date somewhere, but with the Post Mistress busy opening up, she didn't think it wise, as a stranger, to get too close and peer at anything.

They reached the War Memorial, and it didn't transfigure like it had when Hermione was last here with Harry. The statue of Harry with his parents was many years off being made. The names on the muggle memorial were less also, just listing the casualties of World War One.

"Right, we just carry on walking," directed Hermione. "Hopefully we can find something that helps."

The two young women continued on their way down a lane which Hermione unfortunately remembered the snake version of Bathilda Bagshot leading herself and Harry down. She had considered trying to find the historian, but she felt she wouldn't be able to feel anything other than odd and uneasy in the woman's presence.

The houses were mostly old cottages, of wattle and daub plaster onto timber frames, the outsides painted pale pinks, yellows and off-whites. A couple of them were thatched, with elaborate patterns on the ridges of the roofs.

Passing garden gates, both Hermione and Ginny noticed evidence of magic in this part of the village immediately. If they looked a second or two longer than passing at the gardens, they were aware of a misty haze, like heat on the horizon, and were able to see that some of the houses looked quite different under the illusion and some of the plants were more the kind found in Professor Sprout's greenhouses, rather than a muggle village.

"Do we knock on a door and ask? Or just wander backwards and forwards until we see someone?" asked Ginny.

"The problem is, in 1943, a person wandering around, and in our case two persons, and those being strangers, walking around and around would look very suspicious. We might have the police or Home Guard called out on us." Hermione said, thinking.

"Home Guard?"

"They were like part-time army. It was all the people that were either too young, too old, unfit or had reserved occupations, like farmers, who couldn't join the regular army, but they served part-time in unform to help defend Britain on the home front. The problem is, some of them were renown for being a bit over eager to arrest what they thought were spies and so on," Hermione explained.

"So what do we do?" asked Ginny.

"I was hoping to see something that would make me think: 'Dumbledore lived here!', but so far I haven't seen anything to hint that."

The pair walked further on down the lane. The cottages and houses became less, but they continued on, deciding they would at least reach the edge of the village to see what it brought. There had been a good two-hundred yards since the last small cottage, and as the morning had gone on, they had been passed by a couple of villagers on bicycles. One man looked like he could have been a postman. No one had, as of yet, paid much attention to the strangers.

"I think we must be near to the end of Godric's Hollow," said Hermione.

"Maybe we should have asked one of the muggles we saw on those bicycles?" Ginny suggested.

They were now about to pass by the garden gate of what looked to be the last house at this end of the village.

The house was a little run-down, but Hermione imagined it could have been made very cosy and wouldn't have looked out of place on a Christmas card, had there been snow on the ground.

"We know so little about Dumbledore, away from Hogwarts, I'm not sure what we hope to find to hint that he might have lived in one of these houses?" Ginny questioned, as they walked past the last house and then stopped around a hundred yards further on, at the village edge.

"Dumbledore and some of the Order, were always saying things about instincts and gut feelings, so I was hoping I'd just know," Hermione sighed. "I think I was being too optimistic about my skills."

"I have a gut feeling at the moment," said Ginny. "I'm hungry!"

Hermione rolled her eyes at her friend. Weasley's always seemed to be hungry, but in truth she was a little empty herself.

"Do you have anything in that bag of yours?" asked Ginny, hopefully.

"Not unless you want to chew Ron's socks," Hermione smiled. "We'll think of something."

"Perhaps I should have caught that pheasant I saw strutting around in that last garden," said Ginny in a slightly dreamy way. "Mum used to have a great way of cooking pheasant."

"Pheasant?" Hermione asked. "I didn't see a pheasant?"

"It was standing near the front door," Ginny said. "I expect it's strutted and fluttered off somewhere now, worst luck."

Hermione walked back towards the last house they had passed, and walking slower than before she pointedly looked into the garden to see if she could find the pheasant. It didn't look like anyone was home, but they couldn't exactly hang over the gate gawping, in case someone _did_ see them.

Casually turning her head and getting her eyes to roam as fast and thoroughly as possible, Hermione scanned the garden and the front door area. Then she gasped.

"Ginny!" Hermione said, once she had passed the house again.

"What is it?" asked Ginny, feeling very apprehensive suddenly.

"That's not a pheasant you saw!" Hermione was smiling at her. "It's not even real!"

"No need to sound so happy about it. That could have been food."

"Come here and look with me," Hermione insisted, pulling on her friend's arm.

"What about people thinking it odd to hang around a house like this?" Ginny asked, wary.

"I'm hoping this house doesn't matter," Hermione smiled again. "Look! What do you see?"

Ginny looked over the garden gate towards the front door where she had seen the pheasant. "Oh, it's a painting of a pheasant on the bottom of the door," Ginny saw.

"It's _not_ a pheasant!" said Hermione again, grinning. "It's a phoenix!"

The redhead opened her mouth; comprehension had filled her mind. The phoenix was Dumbledore's sigil, the creature he most identified with.

"So, do we knock on the door and see if Dumbledore's home or if his brother still lives there?" asked Ginny, feeling a little excitement, but also hoping deep down that there might be food and a hot cup of tea involved somewhere. Even if it was only Aberforth's stodgy cooking, she wouldn't complain.

"We can try," Hermione said. "Although it looks empty to me."

Hermione opened the gate and began walking up the path. Upon entering the garden properly, and with their qualification as 'magic folk', the illusions completely dropped and Hermione could see an iron phoenix head knocker on the front door now; the door knocker ring was held in the bird's beak. The painting of the phoenix on the bottom of the door looked very real and she could understand why Ginny had thought she had seen a real bird there.

Ginny closed the gate after she walked through and joined Hermione on the doorstop. "This is weird," she said.

"Everything has been weird since we put that Time-Turner around our necks," Hermione answered.

She reached up, about to use the door knocker, when the eyes of the iron bird rolled to look at her, then to the other side to look at Ginny. It made them both flinch slightly, but Hermione reached up to get hold of the knocker ring again.

"Wait!" Ginny said.

"What?"

"Have you got something you can move the ring with other than your hand?" Ginny inquired, completely seriously. "I don't like the look of that beak much. I know Fawkes was a beautiful creature, but this phoenix looks shifty. Never trust anything with bulgy eyes!"

Hermione gave a little snort of laughter, but thought it was still a good idea to perhaps move the knocker with something else. She looked around to make sure no one was passing by, not knowing if they too were cloaked from view now they stood on a magical doorstep; then she pulled out her wand and did a simple levitation spell to lift the knocker ring and let it drop to knock on the door.

They stood on the doorstep for a few moments and didn't hear any movement from inside the house or see any curtains twitching. Hermione repeated the charm to the door knocker, the echo of the knock seeming to sound uncomfortably loud; even the moving eyes of the iron phoenix looked as though it wasn't happy or impressed either.

"Well, nobody is here," Ginny said, sounding down.

"Hmm," was all Hermione answered. She was staring at the door knocker, as though she could force the thing to speak to her, or give her some other clue; she reached a hand towards it.

"What are you doing?" Ginny said. "I thought we said we had to be careful with that!"

The brunette ignored her friend for the moment and contiuned to move her hand towards the iron phoenix head. Very carefully she grabbed hold of the iron ring. _I wonder_, she thought, _I have to try _something_..._

_"Relashio!" _she said with her wand pointed at the knocker. "We're loyal Gryffindors!" she said firmly.

"Herm...i...o...ne..." Ginny was left stunned as she watched the phoenix open its beak and release the knocker ring it had been holding. "What the...?"

Ginny watched on in a kind of amazed stupor as she saw that Hermione didn't hold a knocker ring after all, and that the ring was attached to the end of a large key, which had been held in the mouth of the phoenix.

"No wonder his eyes looked bulgy," Ginny said. "Mine would too if I had that thing down my throat! What made you even try that?"

"I don't know, the thought just sort of came to me. Anyway, something tells me, it's the key to the house," Hermione said, running her hand over the key. "Only one way to find out."

Hermione looked, but not only was there no handle or doorknob there didn't seem to be a lock and she couldn't see one anywhere, so she held the key up in front of the iron phoenix and tried the spell _alohomora_, but nothing happened.

"Where's the lock?" asked a flustered Hermione. "This key must go somewhere as magic isn't working on the door?"

Thinking back to Dumbledore and his phoenix, her mind wandered and she remembered what Dumbledore had told Harry on a couple of occasions. Her lateral thinking had helped so far, so why not again?

"We need help, we're loyal to Dumbledore and need help," Hermione said firmly, speaking it to the phoenix door knocker, which rolled its eyes at her.

"Look!" Ginny said, clasping her arm.

A lock had appeared in the door, and under the scrutiny of the phoenix's eyes, Hermione gently placed the key into the lock. The key fit perfectly and she turned it one way and the key didn't move, so she turned it the other way and a loud _click_ was heard, and the door opened.

Ginny drew out her wand and held it in front of her, Hermione copying her, as they both edged slowly into the house.


	6. Unexpectedly Expected

**A/N: Hopefully you won't be too bored, but it's a strange thing being where Ginny and Hermione find themselves and I wanted to experience a little of it with them. :) **

**I should also reassure you, that although I haven't finished writing the whole story(I'm up to 40 chapters so far), I know exactly where it's going...so it's not aimless, I'm just enjoying these characters again. :)**

6: Unexpectedly Expected

Hermione and Ginny walked forward into the house slowly; wands held out in front of them, walking so slowly and gently so they could hear any noises within the house.

They walked into a hallway, which was quite narrow with lilac coloured wallpaper with the pattern of grape vines running through it; the vines ending with pictures of big purple grapes at various places. There was a smell about the place, not unpleasant, but the kind a person associates with the house of a very elderly relative. Moth balls, mixed with dust and just a touch of lavender.

As they continued to edge down the hallway the front door closed behind them by itself. It didn't slam, but the door clicking shut made them both jump and spin around, ready to hex any unexpected intruder.

Ginny immediately walked back to the door, and finding a handle on this side, pushed down on it. Expecting the worst, and with Hermione holding her breath, both women ready to find themselves locked in, they were relieved when Ginny was able to open the door effortlessly again.

"Make ya blinkin' mind up, will ya? Out or in?" said a voice. It seemed the iron phoenix head door knocker could speak.

"Why didn't you speak earlier?" Ginny asked it, disgruntled.

"I had a flippin' key in my chops, dint I?" it replied.

"Yes, but you didn't speak even when you let go of it, when we were looking for the lock?" Hermione questioned, having walked back to the open door where Ginny was conversing with the door knocker.

"Had to be be sure you were what you said you was," the phoenix replied.

"How does a door knocker do that?" asked Ginny, puzzled.

"Oh, I don't know how to do that meself, gawd blimey I'm a door knocker, ain't I? No, if you weren't what you were 'sposed to be, then the moment you stepped foot in the house, you'd have been chucked out on your arse!"

"How nicely put," said Hermione drily.

"This is Dumbledore's house, right?" Ginny asked.

"Yes," the phoenix replied.

"And?" Ginny prodded.

"And what?" the phoenix rolled its eyes at them, unimpressed.

"And where is he? He's not here, is he? Nor Aberforth?" asked Hermione.

"Of course they're not here, you knocked, remember?" said the phoenix. "Stone the bleedin' crows, I thought one of you was 'sposed to be the brightest witch of her age. Or was it _The_ Age? Brightest witch of somethin'?"

"What?" Hermione gasped, completely taken aback, clasping a hand to her chest. Ginny had turned her head to stare at Hermione, her face pale.

"_What_ what?" the door knocker asked, oblivious to anything he had said to cause the look of astonishment from the visitors.

"Did...," Hermione tried to compose herself and find the right words. "Was I expected?"

"In a manner of speakin'," the phoenix answered. "As I said, I'm just a door knocker. I was told there might be a visitor, a Hermyhoney Grunger, or somethin'. Anyway she's the only one who can get inside like this, so you must be her. I don't know nothin' else."

Ginny let out a laugh. "Hermyhoney Grunger? I like it!"

"How is it that Ginny didn't get thrown out?" Hermione asked, refusing to get distracted.

"Don't ask me, I'm just a door knocker," the phoenix said yet again. "But if she's able to get in, then she's meant to be here, ain't she?"

"I don't think we'll get much more of any use out of 'ironhead' here," said Ginny.

"Oi, I heard that!"

"Oh shut up!" said Ginny stepping back and closing the door again, shutting off the mumbles of complaint from the phoenix.

Hermione was staring ahead at nothing, deep in thought. The whole realization that she or even _they_ were expected was astonishing. It was disconcerting, unsettling and incredibly creepy.

"So, should I check upstairs and you check downstairs?" asked Ginny, getting Hermione's attention.

"No," the brunette said without hesitation. "We stay together. Harry and I nearly made the mistake of splitting up in a Godric's Hollow house, and were close to becoming supper for Nagini before You Know Who turned up. We've been told it's Dumbledore's house and we were expected, but I've learned not to trust things at face value anymore."

Seemingly recovering her composure and sense of purpose, Hermione held out her wand and walked down the hallway again, Ginny behind her with her wand at the ready too. Repeating a spell she had spoken, what seemed like an eternity ago, when entering Grimmauld Place, Hermione cast the _homenum revelio _spell to see if anyone was in the house. There was no reply and no apparent result from the spell.

A closed door was on their right, halfway down the hallway. Hermione gently turned the door knob, hearing a loud squeak; she gently pushed the door open, creaking on its hinges, adding to their apprehension.

The two girls were faced with an empty sitting room. It was a comfortable size and could be classed as cosy, with lots of light coming through the one large window; it had cream-coloured walls and dark beams stretching across the ceiling. There were two old comfortable dark green leather armchairs and a matching sofa. Also in the room were a couple of small side tables and two wooden cabinets, with some fairly ordinary ornaments of cats and birds in them and on them, next to ornaments of hippogriffs and dragons.

There were a couple of muggle paintings on the walls, and it looked like an ordinary cottage sitting room, with a modest fireplace in the centre of what they assumed was the middle wall of the house; above it was a small mantlepiece with an old clock. Hermione made a mental note, that if the house was safe, she would come back here and set her watch to the correct time.

Despite how ornate and packed with strange instruments Dumbledore's office had been at Hogwarts, Hermione could imagine Dumbledore living here at the cottage comfortably. He might have resented the homely quiet atmosphere of it when he was a young wizard, but the only Dumbledore they had known, would have been happy here.

Ginny walked over to another door leading from the sitting room. As Hermione had done, she held her wand ready, eased the handle on the door, and opened the door slowly. Peeping around the doorway, they could see a lovely oak table and a couple of chairs around it, with a mahogany sideboard cabinet along one wall.

"Looks like the dining room," Ginny said.

They both guessed that of the two doors leading from the dining room, one would be to the kitchen. Taking the same care and caution as before, they were proven right, with the second door leading to a study, with a large desk and bookcases stacked with old volumes and tomes. Hermione would normally have itched to have inspected the books, but her priority here was to make sure they were safe and to get their bearings.

In the kitchen there was another fireplace, kitchen sink and an old range stove. There were many cupboards and a small table in the centre of the room with a couple of chairs as well. A door led off to the hallway and another door, which was shorter, and would require a taller person to duck their head, opened into a small pantry.

"Food!" Ginny said, unashamedly delighted by the sight in the pantry.

There were several very edible items on the shelves; bread, which looked, oddly, quite fresh; some vegetables, cans of various things and tins of biscuits.

"Not just yet, Ginny," Hermione warned. "Let's check the whole house first, okay?"

Ginny's stomach growled its response, but its owner knew her friend was right.

Almost in a full circle they found themselves in the hallway again and carefully climbed the narrow staircase. To their relief they found the upstairs to be safe also, with two bedrooms each housing a large four-poster bed, a third bedroom which had been converted into a kind of second study or storage room and a small bathroom.

As each room had yielded nothing but normality and seeming safeness, Hermione could feel the tension dropping from within her, almost to the point she forgot they were back in 1943 and looking around Dumbledore's house in Godric's Hollow, and all that after talking to a door knocker who seemed to have expected her and possibly Ginny too.

"I'm glad about _that_," Hermione said after closing the door on the bathroom, which actually contained a flush toilet.

"Glad about what?" Ginny asked.

"A bathroom _and_ flushing loo!" said the older girl, smiling.

"Oh?"

"Old cottages in villages like this in the 1940s didn't often have bathrooms at all, and the loo was usually a little shed at the bottom of the garden and consisted of a wooden plank with a hole over a cesspit," explained Hermione as Ginny wrinkled her nose at the thought of it. "Or you had to use a chamberpot."

"I agree, I'm glad about the bathroom too!" Ginny said, laughing.

Before they descended the stairs again, they both used the toilet, and then made their way to the kitchen, feeling a little more relaxed.

Hermione didn't stay in the kitchen, much to Ginny's almost despair, and walked through to the dining room and into the study.

"I thought we could maybe, you know, _eat_?" the redhead suggested about as subtly as a bang over the head with a boulder.

"In a minute, Gin," Hermione said. "I just feel, there ought to be something...here," she said as she dragged a hand along the spines of the old books on one of the book cases.

Hermione went around the impressive desk and sat on the chair there, looking at the papers on the desk, for something she hoped might help them. There were papers on rune translations and a couple of old letters from the editor of Transfiguration Today. She looked at the four small drawers to the desk, two either side of where she sat. None of them were locked, but what drew her eye was a little brandiron mark on one of the drawers, of a lion _rampant_; a Gryffindor lion.

Smiling, with a sense of hope and expectation she opened the branded drawer. There were several old quills and blank pieces of parchment, and underneath the writing implements was a cream envelope. Hermione picked it up and however much she had tried to accustom herself to their current situation she couldn't prevent her jaw from dropping and letting out a sound that was a cross between a gasp and a whoop.

"What is it?" Ginny asked. She had been standing in the doorway watching her friend, but now walked forward to the desk, to see what had been found; walking around it to stand by her side.

In Hermione's slightly trembling hands was the cream envelope, which she placed onto the desk as gently as if it was made of paper-thin glass and that it might break if handled too heavily. It was then Ginny saw why Hermione had let out a surprised reaction. On the envelope, written in very familiar, thin, slanted handwriting was "_For Hermione Granger_".

"Bloody hell!" Ginny said, in equal awe.

"Right," said Hermione, taking a huge breath. "Things just got a whole lot weirder!"

"I should say so!" agreed Ginny. "There again, what _were_ you looking for anyway?"

"I just wondered if there was a clue to how to contact Dumbledore or a note to say, 'help yourself to the pantry', because I didn't like taking things without permission. I was looking for a note like that, I never thought..._this!_"

"Well, are you going to open it?"

"Yes," said Hermione.

Taking another deep breath and reaching her fingers out to the envelope again, almost hardly daring to touch it, in case it disintegrated, she turned it over and briefly studied the sealing wax, which had been stamped with a Hogwarts seal.

Hermione carefully peeled up the seal and removed the folded paper from inside the envelope. She flattened it out, and saw the page had more of the same slanted handwriting, and glanced to see it was indeed signed by _'Albus Dumbledore', _as she read it out loud, shaking her head at various points.

_Dear Hermione, _

_I imagine you are deeply troubled, and indeed it is deeply troubling that you should be here and have to read this letter, for it signifies events have occurred that I so hoped would not come to pass. _

_There are some things that I can not explain to you because I myself do not know; when we meddle with time it becomes highly dangerous to know certain things at certain times. Therefore I apologize in advance for not being able to answer all your questions, of which, I'm sure you have many._

_As you may suspect, you arrival is not unexpected and has been in arrangement for some time. I am hoping that my colleagues have given you the necessary framework with which to carry out the task we require of you. _

_I regret I can not come to you straight away every time you may require it, for we all wish to leave no suspicion or trace, but I will help if I can and when I can. The painting in the spare bedroom may be of use in that case._

_Please do make yourself at home while you stay here; my home is your home and you can Apparate and Disapparate safely in the back garden, the house itself is warded. You shouldn't even be aware of our brave muggle friends patrolling the skies or the enemies they oppose. _

_Lastly, I suspect that you are not alone, and probably have a Weasley with you, yes? Two heads are always better than one, don't you think?_

_Warmest regards,_

_Albus Dumbledore_

Hermione placed the letter in front of her on the desk in a kind of numb trance. Ginny was obviously having trouble standing without swaying and she thudded her backside resignedly onto the corner of the desk, sitting there feeling stunned.

"Are we just pawns on a chess board?" Hermione said, not angrily, but flatly. "What on earth have we got ourselves into, Ginny?"

"I don't know," the redhead replied, troubled. "It's like you were expected to be here all along? And either Ron or someone from my family with you too? It's crazy! The whole thing is crazy!"

"You notice he thinks we know why we're here? And he assumes we made our way to the house, like we knew that's what we were supposed to do?"

Ginny nodded. "Yeah, and it also sort of sounds like he can't tell us everything either, or doesn't know?"

"Hmm," uttered Hermione thinking. "I think we need to talk with him as soon as we can. We know nothing about what the hell we're supposed to be doing here. Maybe he knows enough to hint at the path we're supposed to be on?"

"I agree, we need to talk to him," the younger girl nodded. "But...but first, let's have something to eat. Please?"

Hermione couldn't help but smile at her friend, and she was a little hungry too, despite the nerves and nagging doubts about their predicament.

"Come on then," Hermione said, rising from the desk, getting hold of Ginny's hand and pulling her along behind her to the kitchen.

In the pantry Hermione found a can of vegetable soup and thought it was the perfect thing for the current situation. The house didn't seem to be suffering from the rationing the muggle part of the village was enduring. Ginny had already set to lighting the stove and finding up a saucepan to heat up the soup. Hermione found up some plates and bowls, cut up some bread and got Ginny started on making a pot of tea. They could have chosen to use their wands, but there was something theraputic and calming about preparing things the slow way. The two of them decided to eat in the kitchen, and had everything laid out ready on the small table by the time the soup was ready.

It tasted like a feast, and it dawned on Hermione that she couldn't remember the last time she had eaten and suspected it had been a while for Ginny too. A bowl of hot soup and a cup of tea worked wonders for their state of mind, although they didn't talk that much as they ate.

They both wiped their bowls clean with some bread and sat back, satisfied, as they drank their cups of tea.

"That's so much better," Ginny said.

Hermione laughed. "Yes, it is. At least you'll stop whinging about being hungry for five minutes, anyway!"

Ginny stuck her tongue out at her friend, but had to laugh too. "I suppose our next job is contacting Dumbledore?" she asked.

"Yes. Do you realize, we still don't know the date yet?" Hermione said annoyed. "I thought I might find something in the study, but there wasn't anything with a date on it."

"Well, we can ask Dumbledore, or maybe before then, this painting upstairs?" Then Ginny had a thought and suggested, "What about buying a newspaper from the post office in the village?"

"I don't have any money," Hermione said.

"You must have some muggle money in that bag of yours?"

"Yes, I have some muggle money, but it's no use in 1943," said Hermione, and seeing Ginny's confused expression she continued. "Britain used a different system of money before 1971. Instead of pounds and pence, there were pounds, shillings and pence. There were some odd coin names and shapes too. I don't know enough to even transfigure the money I have into what we need."

Ginny just nodded her head slightly, trying to think of something else, then another idea _did_ come to her. "What about asking 'iron-chops' on the door?"

Hermione stood up, walked through to the hall and opened the front door; Ginny followed her when she saw her course of action.

"What do ya want now?" the phoenix asked.

"Do you know what the date is today?" Hermione asked in a clear voice.

"Oh my giddy aunt, is there anythin' you _do_ know?" it asked in a derogatory tone.

"Look, we just want to know the date for today?" Hermione asked again.

"I know the day, but the date? How should I know? I'm a door knocker!"

"Yeah, a bloody useless one!" Ginny said, annoyed.

"I'll have you know..."

"Shut up!" Hermione said shutting the door with a small slam, blocking out whatever else the phoenix was babbling on about. "Well, that exhausts that particular avenue," she said.

Giving a small sigh, Hermione led the way up the stairs and pushed open the door to the third and spare bedroom, the one which looked like a second study. They had seen no paintings in the other bedrooms so assumed it must be in this one. Walking right into the room this time, they turned and saw a large painting on the wall; that is to say they saw a large frame which currently showed an empty painting, of a highbacked chair.

"Great," Ginny said glumly. "Nothing or no one is home."

Hermione walked right up to the frame. "Hello?" she called hopefully, although not entirely confident. "Anyone there?"

There was no answer, not even so much as a shuffling sound of someone just out of frame.

"So here we have yet another useless painting which no doubt normally holds a portrait of some stuck-up poncy pillock who never shows up when you need them," said an angry Ginny. Hermione could only agree with her, after her dealings with the temperamental Phineas Nigellus Black.

_"Stuck-up? Poncy? Pillock?" _said a haughty female voice. "A fine way to treat a person of my station. I've a good mind to walk away again and stay away."

Ginny looked at Hermione in surprise and mouthed a silent 'sorry' to her friend, in case she had messed things up with an important contact, because she couldn't hold her tongue.

"We're sorry," Hermione said firmly, directing her voice towards the painting. "We're tired, in a strange situation and a little on edge. Please talk to us?"

"Hmph," the voice said. "As it turns out I don't have any choice, but manners do not cost anything, you know?"

"Yes, sorry," Hermione said apologetically. "We need some help. _Your_ help." She added the last bit, guessing that like most portraits this one had some vanity and self-importance.

"All right," the portrait woman said.

The two young women watched as a very elegant woman entered the frame, wearing lovely blue robes, with greying hair tied up in a fancy style on top of her head. She looked a little familiar to Hermione, but she couldn't quite place her. The portrait woman sat down on the chair and folded her hands in her lap.

"What do you require?" the woman asked.

"I don't mean to be rude," Hermione began. "But who are you?"

"_Who am I?_ That doesn't sound like needing help, if all you want to do is gossip?" the woman said scornfully.

"I just thought if I knew your name, I could address you more politely," said a very quick-thinking Hermione.

"Oh, I see," the portrait said, thoughtful. "I'm Kendra Dumbledore."

Ginny gasped, and Hermione just nodded, knowing why the woman had looked familiar; she had seen a photo of her in Rita Skeeter's book on Dumbledore. It made them both feel very odd indeed, having only recently been looking at Kendra's grave and now they were talking to her.

"_You're_ Professor Dumbledore's mother?" Ginny asked, astounded.

"If you want to put it that way, yes," said Kendra, sounding as though half of her was pleased that her son was so highly regarded, and half insulted that they thought of her as only secondary in importance. "So what is it you need my help with?"


	7. Mothers and Surprising Finds

**A/N: With this story, I'm not taking too many short cuts...which means it might occasionally feel full of waffle. But everything will add to the overall story and what the characters are feeling...trust me. ;)**

**In this chapter there's a blatant little nod to something JK Rowling has said about Dumbledore. :) I included it to amuse a friend of mine...**

7: Mothers and Surprising Finds.

Hermione and Ginny stared at Kendra Dumbledore as she sat there waiting with an apparent impatient posture. _She's either annoyed with us or her corset is too tight_, Hermione thought. Either way the woman was imposing, and it was easy to see where Dumbledore got his own poise.

"Mrs. Dumbledore," Hermione began. "We really need to talk to Professor Dumbledore. Is there some way he could meet with us?"

"He's a very busy man," Kendra replied, sitting slightly straighter, if that was possible. "He can't just drop everything and keep popping back here."

"I know," Hermione said. "It's just, there's a problem. How can I put this?" the brunette ran a hand through her hair. "We don't...," she desperately tried to think of way of getting across their need for help without revealing too much to the portrait.

Ginny came to her rescue. "Mrs. Dumbledore," she said, just as apologetically and polite as Hermione had spoken. "If you could tell him, that something went very wrong and we were told nothing. Complete chaos left us in the dark. We need help, urgent help and advice."

"You don't look like you need urgent help?" asked a sceptical Kendra. "You're not bleeding, the house doesn't appear to be under attack. Why should I disturb my very busy son on a whim?"

"Mrs. Dumbledore, we can't tell you exactly what is going on, your son would forbid that," said Hermione, thinking on her feet again. "It is suffice to say, that if he knew the predicament we were in, he would want to know and help. Please, at least ask him if he can meet with us?" Hermione almost pleaded; it was a tone which she wasn't feigning, she desperately wanted to see and talk to their late Headmaster.

"Well," said Kendra, looking at both girls as if trying to detect a falsehood. "All right."

"I'm sorry I didn't introduce myself, I'm Hermione Granger and this is Ginny We..."

"Weasley? Yes, I know who you are, and I was told to expect a red-haired Weasley," said Mrs. Dumbledore as she stood up and walked out of the picture frame.

"If she knew who we were and everything," Ginny whispered in Hermione's ear. "Then why the flipping hell did she make it sound so hard to talk to her son for us?"

Hermione shrugged her shoulders. "Maybe Professor Dumbledore told her to be careful with anyone trying to talk to her in the house, although...I couldn't be an imposter using polyjuice potion because..."

"You'd be kicked out on your arse outside the front door, as that charming phoenix told us would happen to anyone other than you," Ginny finished for her.

"Maybe she's just protective over her son?" Hermione suggested.

"Or maybe she's a bit of an old battleaxe!" offered Ginny, but still keeping her voice low.

They hadn't been told if Kendra would come straight back or not, so they decided to sit on a couple of chairs which were in the room, and wait. If it took a long time before they had an answer then they could stay in the room in shifts, while the other could go to the loo or get a cup of tea.

After about an hour, Kendra Dumbledore walked back into the frame and sat back down on the chair, arranging her skirts before talking to them. Hermione and Ginny had immediately stood up and walked closer to the painting again.

"Miss Granger, Miss Weasley," Kendra said in her very snobby voice. "Professor Dumbledore would be delighted to see you, but he can not get away until tomorrow morning. He says to tell you to stay calm, enjoy the comfort and safety of the house and he will arrive back here just after 9am."

"Did he say anything else?" Ginny inquired.

"If he did, don't you think I might have said?" Kendra shook her head slightly. "Now, if you both don't mind, I prefer my other portrait at Hogwarts, a much nicer view. And try not to break anything while you're here!" The elegant woman rose from her chair again and made to walk away.

"Wait!" Hermione said suddenly. "Please?"

Kendra stopped in midstep and turned her head to look at the brunette, looking a little ruffled. "What else do you want?" she asked.

"I'm sorry to keep you," Hermione said. "But, do you know the date today? We only know it's 1943, but we have no idea of the day or month. Please, if you know?"

"I can see why you need help now," said Kendra, somewhat bemused. "It's Friday, 12th March."

Hermione and Ginny turned their heads to look at each other, almost having to digest again the fact that they were in 1943; now they knew the month, date and day.

"Thank you, Mrs. Dumbledore," said Ginny. "You've been very helpful."

Kendra Dumbledore slightly inclined her head towards the two young women, which could have been interpreted as a little bow and turned away, walking out of her frame again.

"Friday 12th March," Hermione said slowly, almost trance-like as she allowed herself to adjust. "At least it's not Friday 13th. I'm not superstitious, but I think that would have felt particularly eerie in the current circumstances.

They were silent for a while, thinking everything and nothing all at the same time. Now that they knew the date, did it mean anything, prove anything, make anything clearer?

"I think it's time for another cup of tea," said Ginny. "Mum always puts the kettle on when she has to think on anything big. Mum...," she tailed off, as it hit her that she was a long way from home, in time, rather than distance.

"You okay, Ginny?" asked Hermione.

"Yeah, it just kind of hit me that we're such a long way from home and Mum wasn't even born in 1943! I'm in a place _before_ she was even born...that's insane!"

"The weirdness just keeps on gathering, doesn't it?" Hermione got hold of her friend's hand, gave it a squeeze of support and walked out of the room, with the kitchen and a cup of tea on the agenda.

Some minutes later, the two of them were seated in the sitting room in the comfortable leather armchairs, which creaked and squeaked in a homely, lived-in way as they sat in them, drinking from mugs of tea.

"Well, we know why Dumbledore can get here tomorrow," Hermione said. "No classes on a Saturday."

"It's going to feel peculiar seeing him again," Ginny said quietly. "In a way we won't know _this_ Dumbledore, will we?"

"I hadn't really thought about it, but you're right. This Dumbledore hasn't met us before...," Hermione's mind wandered and she seemed to be gazing at a particular place on the wall, before coming back to the conversation again. "I think we'll just have to face it and deal with it when it happens, otherwise we'll go mad trying to think of all the things we and he knows and doesn't know."

"I suppose we can't tell him how and when he died, can we?" Ginny said, with half a smile.

"No, I think he would probably hex us if we began to talk of things like that. Besides no one, not even a man as great as he became, would want to be told, 'By the way sir, you get cursed by a horcrux which withers your hand, before your trusted colleage actually kills you, making you fall off the Astronomy Tower in the process', no I think we had best keep quiet unless he specifically asks us something."

"We need to find something to do for the rest of the day," said Ginny. "Otherwise the hours are going to drag by."

"Let's take a look in the back garden for a start," Hermione said, getting up. "We haven't seen there yet."

Hermione and Ginny walked through to the kitchen, taking their empty mugs with them. They walked through a small scullery, which had a large 'copper' for washing clothes off the back of the kitchen, and then through a door leading to the garden.

It was a fairly overgrown place, with many shrubs and a couple of large trees at the end of the garden. There was what appeared to be a vegetable patch, although it hadn't been tended for a long time. Looking at the place closely, Ginny gave a little laugh.

"I see this place has its own gnome population too, look!" she said to Hermione, pointing to two little figures squabbling over what looked like a very old shrivelled carrot, under the overhang of one of the shrubs.

"Well, they're welcome to that carrot," said Hermione smiling. "I don't think I'd want to eat anything from this veggie patch."

"Hmm, that's the garden tour done, then," Ginny sighed, knowing they needed to fill their time with something or go a little crazy.

"There's a lot of books in the study," said Hermione. "I'm sure we could lose ourselves in those for a while."

"Why not," Ginny said, as they turned to go back into the house.

Despite her sporty persona, Ginny was highly intelligent herself and settling with some musty old books wasn't as grim to her as it might have been for her brother Ron. She would probably always place quidditch above books, but if the latter was the only option, she wouldn't complain at all.

The study was packed with books, on bookcases, on top of bookcases and there was even a few small piles on the floor by the desk. Nearly every volume seemed to be incredibly old, bound in a variety of leathers, with one book possibly bound in something more sinister, which made Hermione think of a book she had in her beaded bag, with it's equally distasteful covering of some unknown hide.

Both women picked out a few random books and sat on the two chairs in the room; one behind the desk, one in front of it.

Some of the titles of the books were more entertaining than the contents, such as 'Health-giving Herbology', and one entitled 'Transfiguration for the Modern Victorian Wizard', which made them both laugh. There were books with diagrams and potion recipes, even a book on actual edible recipes, although all sounded a potential health hazard.

Hermione put back her first pile of books and gathered up some more to peruse through. Ginny did the same, and went for some smaller books on the very bottom shelf of one of the bookcases.

The time was indeed going by at a good pace, and they were both genuinely enjoying looking through the old books before them. They had had a couple of cups of tea and raided one of the biscuit tins, finding some tasty shortbread. Hermione had just picked up a book about choosing the perfect animagus form to take, based on character and ability. She was completely engrossed in it, when Ginny let out a huge snort of laughter.

"Oh my god!" said the redhead, giggling.

"What?" Hermione asked.

Ginny was still laughing. "People are full of...surprises!" she managed to say in between giggles.

"What _have_ you found?" Hermione asked, completely intrigued.

The red-haired girl was still having trouble speaking through her laughter, and everytime she looked at the small book in her hand and tried to start explaining, she just creased up in laughter again.

In the end, she handed the book to Hermione. It was very small, but very old, like all the books in the room were old, and the title was, 'The Sweetness in the Silence'. It looked like a novel, rather than a reference book.

"Go to...page ninety-two," said Ginny, finally calming her breaths. "From the second paragraph down. Read it to the very bottom of the page."

Hermione wasn't sure what on earth she was going to find, but flicked the old yellowed pages and began reading the paragraph; the pages were small, so she couldn't imagine what was so funny from such a snippet:

_'The room was quiet and dark, with not a soul to be heard and only the sound of their breaths breaking the otherwise silent mansion. The rest of the household were abed and had no idea of the wandering guests it was housing this night. _

_Their lips met, with need, as hands parted and opened robes, baring skin to the night air and at the mercy of their lover's touch._

_They needed this so badly, to unite as one entity, to give and receive with the other. All thought was made impossible as Clarence felt his lover's beard tickle his chest and stomach as Henry kissed his way down, stopping only once he reached Clarence's...'_

"Oh!" Hermione said, blushing profusely, then letting out a girlish snort followed by a giggle.

"Yeah, 'oh' indeed!" Ginny laughed.

"It's, well, different," said Hermione, struggling to give any other comment.

"That's putting it mildly. Dumbledore reading soft porn! _Gay_ soft porn!" Ginny snorted again.

"It might not have been his," Hermione said. "It might have been amongst some other books he bought from somewhere. Or perhaps he just wanted to expand his reading."

Ginny could only laugh in reply.

"Ginny Weasley!" Hermione said, blushing still. "We had better forget about this," she said, moving to put it at the back of the bookcase, behind some other books, trying to employ an 'out of sight, out of mind' theory.

"Don't worry," said the redhead. "I'm hardly going to bring it up tomorrow in conversation, am I?"

As Hermione sat back she realized that it was starting to get dull outside. The vernal equinox hadn't passed yet, so techincally the nights were still longer than the days. She looked at her watch, which she had set to the clock's time in the sitting room, and saw it was approaching 5.30pm. The afternoon had flown by, and Hermione was amazed that Ginny hadn't made a hint about dinner.

"I think that's all the books even _I_ can take for now," Hermione said, stretching her arms above her head and cracking out the stiffness in her neck and shoulders, from having sat reading for so long. "Let's think of something for dinner."

Ginny's head shot up, from the book on gnome wars she was reading; until that moment she hadn't realized that gnomes had _had_ wars, and certainly hadn't known it was approaching dinner as well.

Shutting their books and putting them back onto the shelves, mostly in the same places they remembered taking them from, they moved off into the kitchen, and went to stand in the pantry, to look over their food items for ideas.

"How come, all this stuff looks so fresh?" Ginny asked. "Is it enchanted or has someone come every day, do you think?"

"If I had to bet on it, I'd say it was the work of Hogwarts house-elves," Hermione said, voicing an opinion she had arrived at a short time ago. "If we were expected around this time, then Dumbledore probably made sure the house had fresh food ready."

"That would make sense."

"So, what have we got and what shall we have?" Hermione said, looking over the vegetables and cans of food on the shelves.

Ginny lifted a porcelain cover that was on top of a dish, to find a large block of cheddar cheese on the plate underneath. She lifted another smaller china cover and found a block of butter.

"How about," Ginny started to say as she looked at a net bag holding potatoes, plucking out two large ones. "Baked spuds, with cheese?"

"Sounds good to me, and minimal effort required," smiled Hermione.

They soon had the potatoes scrubbed and pricked and set them inside the oven part of the range stove. Yet again, they chose not to use magic and enjoy things the slow muggle way.

Setting the table, and getting another pot of tea ready, it was surprising how the time flew again. Hermione did use her wand to levitate the baked potatoes out of the range sliced them open in half and placed them on their plates.

Shortly before the potatoes were cooked, with night falling outside, they had lit several candles and lamps around the house; it gave the whole house a cosy feeling.

They used ample amounts of butter, loving the comforting smells and sights of the butter melting on the boiling hot potatoes. Hermione grated some cheese over her potato halves, and to Ginny's amusement, Hermione pointed her wand at them and the cheese became toasted.

"Do you want the same?" asked Hermione. Ginny nodded, and so another pair of toasted cheese baked potatoes halves were created.

Both women ate, and until their first few mouthfuls hadn't realized that they were indeed hungry.

"We're very lucky here," said Hermione. "In some ways I feel a little guilty."

"Why?"

"The muggle part of the village probably only get rationed that amount of cheese and butter we just used, to last a whole week!"

Ginny sighed. "We can't do much about it, can we? We can hardly invite half the village over and hand out food."

"No."

"We'll just have to try to not feel guilty. After what we've been through, I don't think many people would begrudge us," Ginny added. "Except maybe Malfoy and Umbridge, and definitely Pansy Parkinson!"

Hermione smiled again, and in that moment found an acceptance within herself that whatever their task was, they just had to get on with it, with the tools and help they found, and not keep worrying about what other people were having to deal with or feeling guilty for anything they had that others did not.

"Do you want any dessert?" Hermione asked Ginny. "There's nothing really exciting, but I think I saw a can of peaches on the shelf?"

"That would be fine," the redhead answered. And they actually found the canned peaches to be lovely and sweet and slid down their throats wonderfully, making them feel refreshed.

Deciding that it was perfectly acceptable, they used magic to undertake most of the washing up, later. The kitchen was restored to its clean, homely self again, with all plates and mugs in the places they had been found. Nothing had been broken or even chipped, which pleased them both after remembering Kendra Dumbledore sternly asking them not to break anything, although they were sure they could repair something with magic if they had broken an item.

Hermione and Ginny moved to the sitting room again, lighting a small fire in the grate and flopped down in the armchairs, with Hermione picking up her beaded bag and starting to rummage in it again.

"Looking for anything in particular?" asked Ginny.

"I just wondered what our clothes situation was," replied the brunette. "You can wear some of my things, and there's still some of Ron's things in here too. A few _tergeo_ spells should work wonders and make everything feel clean and nearly laundered."

"Have you got...," Ginny began, then didn't carry on.

"Have I got what?" asked Hermione, still rummaging, and pulling out a damp-looking dark green sock of Ron's, holding it at arm's length.

However, Ginny didn't answer and remained silent, her face down, studying her own hands as she teased with a loose thread from Ron's sweater that she was wearing. Hermione looked up and watched her a couple of moments and then guessed what was wrong.

"You want to know if I have anything of Harry's in here?" Hermione voiced.

Ginny's head shot up, meeting her friend's gaze; willing herself not to allow tears to fill her eyes, she just nodded.

"I don't have much," Hermione said, feeling very sad herself now. "He kept a lot of things in his own rucksack, and it's not in here anymore. I do have one of his shirts and a T'Shirt, I think. Would you like to have them?" she asked Ginny, uncertain of what to do about the subject.

Again, Ginny nodded, as she took a noticeable deep breath. Hermione fudged around in her bag and grabbed hold of the soft cotton blue shirt and a marl grey T'Shirt. She handled them almost reverently, without realizing it, and handed them to Ginny as gently as if she were passing over a newborn kitten.

Hermione felt very awkward and made a point of looking concentrated on her bag and the contents she was frequently pulling out to examine, trying to give her friend a little privacy. She was aware, however, that Ginny had held both garments in her hands, gently feeling the material as if she had never felt a shirt or T'Shirt before. It took all of Hermione's resolve not to allow her own unshed tears to fall when she became aware that Ginny had brought the shirts to her nose and sniffed in the scent. The scent of Harry, her boyfriend and the 'Chosen One' who lay dead at the hands of Voldemort, fifty-five years in the future.

"Would you think it odd," Ginny said, breaking the emotional silence. "If I wore these?" she gestured to the two garments.

"No, it's not odd at all," Hermione said, managing a small smile.

"It's just, I think it would be like having him with me, with _us_, and that makes me feel...I don't know...stronger," Ginny said, her chin set with determination, where so recently it had looked to wobble with intense distress.

"I think that's a wonderful idea," said Hermione, and she did truly think that.


	8. Baths and Dreams

**A/N: This chapter includes the first dreams. Dreams can be funny, sad, prophetic, eerie and plain disturbing...the dreams in my story will feature all the above. :) Dreams will feature a lot from now on...but as you read each one, they will start to make more sense to the whole thing as the story goes on. I've made both girls capable of thinking while dreaming and nearly being able to control their dream actions...something I've been able to do for years, so if **_**I**_** can do that I'm sure Ginny and Hermione can. :) **

**If you're impatiently wondering...:)...you'll find out what Ginny and Hermione are required to do in 1943 in the next chapter, #9. I'm enjoying these characters too much to rush them. :)**

**As has been asked, Hermione and Ginny are destined to be 'closer'...eventually. ;) I may in due course, change the genre to include Romance. It's been very hard to put a category to this story.**

8: Baths and Dreams

Hermione had begun to feel tired, the events of not just their day in Godric's Hollow but the events of the Battle at Hogwarts had started to penetrate her energy levels, when before now she had been living on adrenalin. Ginny yawned at around the moment Hermione considered turning in for the night.

"I'm thinking of having an early night," Hermione said to her friend. "I suddenly feel drained."

"Me too," Ginny replied, unable to stop another yawn. "Do we sleep down here or use the beds?"

"I think I'm going to opt for a bed. I can't remember the last time I slept in a proper one."

Ginny draped Harry's shirt and T'Shirt over her arm and stood up. Hermione picked up her beaded bag and they made their way up the stairs.

On reaching the landing, they peeped into the first bedroom with its four-poster double bed, and then into the second room; both beds had lovely maroon velvet bedspreads. Hermione was about to ask which room Ginny wanted, when her friend spoke.

"Hermione," Ginny said. "This is going to sound a little pathetic, but do you think we could sleep in the same bed? I'm...I don't know, I just think I'd rest better."

Hermione nodded. "Of course. That's fine with me." In the process of looking at each bedroom, Hermione had felt a twinge of uncertainty; she wouldn't class it as fear, but she felt more unsettled and the approach of night had only doubled her feeling of vulnerability.

They chose the bedroom which also had a dressing table with a mirror, a wardrobe and two chests of drawers, with matching bedside cabinets on either side of the bed. There was also a little clock on the dressing table which would be easy to see from the bed. Closing the curtains, they lit a couple of lamps and the room immediately became homely and cosy.

Hermione sat down on a stool in front of the dressing table mirror. "I look an absolute mess!" she proclaimed to herself and the room. Although her earlier spell, back in the church porch had cleaned their faces, she still felt grubby to the core and her hair was more of a bushy mess than ever.

Despite everything, Hermione considered having a bath. She got up and walked out of the room and put her head around the bathroom door, and to her surprise their was a neatly folded pile of clean towels on a shelf which she hadn't noticed earlier.

"I'm going to have a quick bath," Hermione called to Ginny.

Ginny walked from the bedroom to the bathroom. "Really?"

"I can't remember when I had the last one!" Hermione laughed. "Look, there's clean towels. Why don't you have one after me?"

The thought of something as simple as a bath, seemed to have lightened their moods a lot, with Ginny nodding agreement. Hermione went back to the bedroom and looked in her bag, dragging out a T'Shirt and some pyjama bottoms she had used when camping out with the boys. Her spells had made both look clean and fresh. She gave her bag to Ginny and told her there were some books she might find interesting in there, while she waited.

Hermione wasn't entirely sure there would be hot water, but it wouldn't be a problem to a witch with a wand, if there was only cold. To her surprise there was a hot tap and the water was hot; being Dumbledore's house, she decided not to be too surprised about it.

Although she didn't intend to stay too long in the bath, she couldn't prevent a long drawn out "Arrrrr" of satisfaction as she lowered her tired body into the water. There were some bottles of bubblebath in the room, in various colours, and she had chosen the red one, which smelled a little like cherries, or cherry blossom or possibly both.

Looking down at herself in the water as she washed her arms and legs, Hermione couldn't quite believe all the little, and big, bruises she had. There were a couple of small burn marks she hadn't healed, probably because she hadn't seen them, from the result of the fiery escape from the Room of Requirements. It all seemed completely strange, that hours ago she was fighting for her life and the lives of every non-Voldemort supporter, with so many people dead, including Fred and even Harry; yet here she was soaking in a bath, in a house in Godric's Hollow.

She quickly washed her hair, and then got out of the bath to dry off, using a spell to dry her hair. Hermione felt much more relaxed, and it was like she had already begun to restock her energy. As the daughter of dentists, one thing she had packed plenty of were half a dozen new toothbrushes, of which she had three new ones left, not knowing how long she, Harry and Ron would be on the run. Using some toothpaste, she had also packed, and cleaning her teeth, she felt very refreshed.

Wearing her T'Shirt and bottoms, Hermione walked into the bedroom, she smiled at Ginny who was reading a book from Hermione's bag.

"The bathroom's all yours," the brunette told her friend. "I've left a new toothbrush out for you too."

"Are you sure you haven't packed the proverbial kitchen sink in that bag of yours?" Ginny chuckled.

"No, but it would fit if I wanted to pack it," replied Hermione. "Could you find me the bottle of dittany from the bag again, please?" she asked as she sat up on the bed and rolled up a leg of her pyjamas to find the small burn again.

"Ouch!" said Ginny, as she saw what Hermione had uncovered as she passed her the bottle. "How did that happen?"

Hermione also showed her a streak of burning on her arm too. "Remember we asked you to leave the Room of Requirements? It was so we could go in and find the diadem horcrux. Well, Malfoy, Crabbe and Goyle followed us in and what happened between us, wasn't ordinary fire and flames; Crabbe decided to play with fiendfyre."

Ginny's eyes widened. "Bloody hell! What on earth was he thinking?"

"It was Crabbe, he doesn't think, he never has!" Hermione shook her head. "Anyway we escaped on brooms, but we all got a little singed. I thought I'd dealt with all the burns until I saw these."

Opening the stopper on the bottle of dittany, Hermione put a drop on the burn on her leg, gasping slightly from the sensation, and then repeated the process on her arm. Within minutes, the burns had healed and were nearly invisible.

Ginny passed the beaded bag over and Hermione put the dittany back into it, then pulled out another pair of pyjama bottoms, which had pictures of little sheep all over them. The red-haired girl laughed when she saw them, but looked like she was going to enjoy wearing them. Hermione was about to find up a T'Shirt, either one of her own or Ron's, for Ginny to wear, but her friend shook her head.

"I'm going to wear this," Ginny said, picking up Harry's grey T'Shirt.

Hermione nodded. She tried to think of what she would do if the roles were reversed and she knew that she too would want to wear or hold something of Ron's, if he had been the one to lose his life. It made her stomach tighten with anguish at the thought, and she felt no better with the knowledge that she had left the battle with Ron alive, because her best friend Harry, was still dead.

A little while later, Ginny came back into the bedroom, and her hair shone with almost a fiery glow. Hermione hadn't thought Ginny had got as dirty and grimey as herself, but seeing how shiny her hair was now, meant it must have been dusty and grubby before.

Hermione put away the book Ginny had been reading and their other bits and pieces she either put back into the bag too or onto the dressing table.

"I hadn't thought," Hermione suddenly said. "I don't know if the beds are made up under the top cover?"

They drew back the maroon, velvet bedspread and there was a beautifully clean and made up bed, with light blue sheets and a comfortable warm quilt.

"There's our answer!" Ginny said happily.

Pulling back the bedspread, to pool at the bottom of the bed, they both slid into bed under the sheet and quilt. The pillows were soft and the mattress was firm and comfortable as they half laid, half sat up in the bed, after placing their wands under their pillows.

Hermione settled back when another thought came to her. "We're very lucky to both have had baths like that," she said quietly.

"Don't tell me baths were rationed too?" Ginny, rolled her eyes, and thought again how glad she was not to have grown up during World War Two Britain.

"Water was sort of rationed," Hermione told her. "I remember Grandma telling me about the amount they were allowed in a bath and that the whole family used the same water a lot of the time."

"Ewww," Ginny exclaimed, scrunching her face up. "Imagine using bathwater that all my brothers had used before me. Yuck!"

Hermione laughed. "I don't know about wanting to use the bathwater after they had used it, but I wouldn't mind being in the same bath as Ron."

Ginny let out a sound which could only be described as a cat being trod on while it was having a coughing fit from a furball. "Hermione Granger!"

"Sorry," Hermione said, still smirking.

"I don't know what you see in him?" the redhead half-inquired. "You'll be elderly by the time he has the guts to ask you out properly or even kiss you!"

"Wellll," Hermione said.

"Merlin's pants! He _has_ asked you out?" Ginny said, looking at her friend, astonished.

"Not exactly," Hermione said, hoping to enjoy the reaction from the next piece of information she divulged. "But we _have_ kissed."

"No way! When?"

"A few hours ago, it just kind of happened," said a smiling Hermione.

"In the middle of possibly the biggest ever battle in magical history you and my brother were snogging?"

"Only briefly, Gin, a matter of moments" Hermione shook her head, amused. "It's not like we were making out on a desk in one of the classrooms with Death Eaters all around us!"

"I should hope not!"

They both went quiet again, as it had hit them again about the situation they had left behind them.

"I wonder if anyone knows we've disappeared, you know, back at Hogwarts?" asked a very thoughtful Ginny.

"I don't know," Hermione said. "I'm not sure how things work, but there's no way of knowing what happened after we came here, because when we get back, things will happen from there for us, and we'll never know what happened when we weren't there...if you understand my meaning?"

"Yeah, I sort of get that," replied Ginny slowly. "So it's possible that no one will know we've gone...or not for long, when we get back. But, what's happening for them now, might mean we have disappeared, or something...argh, it's confusing!"

"I think it's best to not try and work out what happened after we left, because it might be irrelevant to us, and it's better that we only think about it when the time comes to go back," said Hermione in a measured voice.

"I agree on that," said Ginny, then something else came to her mind. "Hermione? Why can't we just find Tom Riddle here and...and...kill the bastard now?"

"We can't! It would be changing the future beyond comprehension."

"But he's hurt and killed so many people, destroyed families, if we got to him before he could do any of that...," Ginny tailed off.

"I know what you're thinking," Hermione answered. "If we killed him here, then Harry's parents would be alive, probably Fred, Lupin, Tonks and Harry too, but the damage we could create is unthinkable." She sighed loudly. "It's very likely, that by killing Tom Riddle here that we set off very small ripples, which turn into bigger ones that affect unimagineable things. Something as simple as your parents meeting and marrying might alter, so they never get together and you never get born. Or someone else takes the place of Riddle, someone like a Bellatrix...imagine a fruitcake like her _leading_ wizards! It's very hard, I know, believe me I know, but we can't do things like that. Unfortunately the saying about 'better the devil you know' is correct in this case."

"But we're here to obviously do something or find something, that's altering the future as far as I can see?" asked Ginny.

"I think the thing we have to do or find, is something to _use_ in the future when we go back, or set up to use in the future, rather than altering the pattern of the future itself." Hermione tried to explain. "At least, that's what I assume is involved. Hopefully Dumbledore will help us tomorrow."

Hermione shuffled herself down the bed a bit further and pulled up the covers, unable to stop an almighty yawn. "I'm going to have to close my eyes now," she admitted. "Do you want the lights off or dimmed?"

"I think I'd like to keep them dimmed," replied Ginny.

"I agree," said the brunette. "It's a strange house to us and it will make it less daunting and unsettling."

"Yes, that, and also the fact I won't trip over something if I need to get out to the bog in the night," said Ginny.

"That too!" said Hermione with a laugh.

Hermione grabbed her wand which she had earlier placed under the pillow and pointed it at the lamp on her side of the room, getting it to dim to a cosy yellow glow, and Ginny copied her with the lamp on her side. Both kept their wands under their pillows, so they were at hand should they need them for any reason.

Before letting sleep take her Hermione said, "I'm glad you're with me, Ginny. I'm not sure I could do all of this alone."

"There was no way I was going to let you go off by yourself!" Ginny said fiercely. "Besides, I need to be doing something. I want to fight back in any way that I can and I...I couldn't stay there. Not with all those...bodies."

Hermione reached a hand over the bed and found Ginny's hand and gave it a squeeze. "We're going to make this count. I can't tell you how it will turn out as we don't know, but we'll damn well try hard at whatever it is we have to do."

Ginny squeezed Hermione's hand back and then nestled her head into her pillow more, trying to get comfortable.

"Night Ginny."

"Night Hermione."

XXXXXXXXX

Hermione was soon asleep and although her brain had been busy and under extreme stress for the past day and in truth the past few months, she entered a very relaxing dream..._zzzzzzz_

She was sitting by the lake at Hogwarts; the sun was shining and a soft breeze made the lake gently lap at its banks. Ron was sitting with her, holding her hand as they talked about some quite strange things. He was complaining about the mandrake which had taken over teaching History of Magic lessons while Professor Binns went on tour to India with the England Cricket Team. _It's a dream_, she actually thought while dreaming it, _nonsense sentences happen in dreams!_

However odd the conversation might have been, Hermione was enjoying this dream; she felt peaceful and content. No one else was with them, and nobody was in sight of them, and she felt slightly daring. Hoping that Ron wouldn't jump back like a frightened rabbit, she leaned in closer to him, trying to give him all the signals that she wanted to kiss him. The Ron in the dream understood straight away, putting an arm around her as their lips gently met. After many moments she lay back on the grass and pulled him back down to her, to resume their kissing.

She felt light and heady and had a feeling like she wanted to burst out laughing. However, she willed her dream-self not to mess things up and hoped that Ron wouldn't turn into a pygmy puff or Hagrid, as people she tried to kiss in dreams invariably changed into someone or something else; so she tried to carry on with this rather wonderful bit of kissing. Lying on the grass, letting time go by without a care in the world; until the moment was lost, as she and Ron heard an ear-splitting scream. He shrugged his shoulders and leaned back in to continue their snogging session, until they clearly heard a scream again and this time it was actual words being screamed.

_"HARRRY! NOoooooo!"_

"We have to see what's wrong!" She told Ron, trying to move to get to her feet.

_"NOT HER TOO! MUMMM!" _the voice screamed again..._zzzzzzz_

Hermione awoke with a start, and wasn't sure where she was for a moment, until she saw the four-poster bed she was lying in, the glow of the lamps and the dressing table with the mirror in the room. It was then Ginny shouted out again.

"NOOOO! NOOOO! YOU CAN'T! NOO!"

Ginny was lying on her side, her back to Hermione and her body was flinching quite dramatically, and it was obvious the younger girl was having a nightmare, and from the snippets of words she caught, it didn't take much for Hermione to work out what it might be involving.

Not knowing whether it was best to wake someone from a nightmare or to leave them, Hermione jiffled up the bed slightly, so she was nearly sitting up and looked over at her friend. After Ginny let out another scream, Hermione made her decision and placed a hand on the redhead's shoulder and gently shook her.

"Ginny?" Hermione said softly.

"NOOOO! YOU HAVE _HIM_, NOT GEORGE TOO!"

"Ginny? Wake up," said Hermione, holding her friends shoulder more firmly, trying again to wake her.

Suddenly Ginny's whole body seemed to jump a few inches up in the air, making Hermione jump herself, and that was followed by a sharp, ragged intake of breath. Ginny turned slightly in the bed so she was almost on her back and almost as unexpectedly she sat bolt upright, looking shocked, scared and confused.

"You were having a nightmare," Hermione said in a soft voice.

The redhead spun her head to look at Hermione as if she had forgotten there was someone else in the bed. The younger girl had tears down her face and although she had red flushed cheeks, she was as pale as whitewash.

Hermione laid a hand on Ginny's shoulder again, trying to reassure her, but not knowing how she could make any of the things her friend had dreamed feel better, because the recent living world wasn't all that different from the nightmare one.

"Do you want to talk about it?" Hermione asked gently. "I think I can guess some of it, from what you were shouting."

Ginny took another couple of ragged breaths, trying to calm herself and shifted back to rest against the pillows again.

"I was back at the battle, except this time I saw...," Ginny closed her eyes and took a deep breath. "I saw the actual moment Harry d...died. Then we got overpowered and You Know Who lined up all m...my family. Bellatrix held me back and I couldn't move and He...He...," her voice broke and tears filled her eyes and fell down her cheeks.

Hermione sat closer to her and put an arm around her, and Ginny turned in the embrace and clung onto her, resting her head on the older girl's chest, taking Hermione by surprise a little. But, she held onto her friend, and soothingly smoothed Ginny's hair as she let the girl cry, talk or whatever she needed to do.

After a little while, with her distress calmed again, Ginny continued. "It was so real," she said. "He was going down the line of my f...family and...k...killing them in turn. I tried to break free but I couldn't move. My...M..Mum, Dad, George," she sobbed a little again, with fresh tears. "We left them, Hermione. We left them."

The brunette had tears in her eyes too now, and she held on tighter to Ginny. "I know," she said. "I know we did. But we chose to do this. I know we didn't have long to think about it and we still don't know what we've got ahead of us, but I have this _hope_. It's a small hope, but we have to cling to it; that what we're doing here will make a difference. That maybe, we can protect them, protect them all if we succeed," she sniffled a little.

Ginny was silent for a time as they held on to each other, then she sighed. "I know you're right Hermione. It was just so real, so devastating. I...I...it was almost like I was seeing it really happen, a glimpse to another world."

"Even if that were true," Hermione replied. "And I don't discount it, because of Harry's extraordinary ability, we'll return before that can happen. That is one future that does not necessarily have to happen, if we have any say in it."

Hermione felt Ginny nod her head against her in agreement, the younger girl much calmer and now failing to stifle a yawn.

"It's probably not a place you want to go back to, but I think we should try and get some more sleep," Hermione suggested.

"I'll just have to keep telling myself that whatever my stupid mind shows me, it hasn't happened yet," answered Ginny. "I'm so sorry I woke you up," she said, feeling embarrassed now.

"Don't by silly," Hermione said. "I'm sure we're going to have to rely on each other a lot over the next few days or however long we're on this mission, or whatever the hell it is. We'll get through everything together."

Hermione shifted herself down the bed so she was lying flat again. Ginny had sort of moved with her, and was still loosely resting against her, with her head on her chest still.

"Do you want me to...er...move?" Ginny asked, timidly. "It's just I think I might sleep better if I'm close to someone." The redhead was glad of the dimmed lights so that Hermione couldn't see the blush that had crept to her cheeks.

"I'm okay with it, if you are?" asked Hermione, who herself thought she might feel better with someone close to her, and she wanted to help Ginny as much as she could. Although, she really hoped she didn't have anymore kissing-Ron dreams, _because that could end up extremely embarrassing, _she thought.

They settled together and Hermione could sense that in that short time Ginny was again exuding an aura of determination and supreme courage to fight on. The redhead's family were all like that and she admired that trait in the Weasley's so much. They fought for what they thought was right; they loved fiercely and fought fiercely and again Hermione was so grateful she had brought Ginny with her.

With a last look down at Ginny's almost asleep head on her chest, and feeling her arm about her waist, she closed her own eyes, leaving her own arm around her friend, and let sleep take her, hoping they would be able to face whatever they learned from Dumbledore tomorrow.


	9. The Task Revealed

**A/N: The beginning of some answers...maybe. :)**

**I am changing the genre to Romance/Drama, because eventually, that will happen...in some way...slowly. ;) I wasn't sure whether to originally use 'Romance' as one of the genres because it won't happen for a little while and is subtle to begin with. So don't be too disappointed if nothing juicy happens for a while. **

**I intend to update with a new chapter at least once a week. It might be more than that, just depends on how much time I have to post the chapters. **

9: The Task Revealed

Ginny had only woken up once more that night, disturbed from another nightmare. She was angry with herself for letting it disturb her and felt bad about waking Hermione again. The older woman didn't mind, she was just concerned for her friend. So they talked again for a little while, and were able to settle back to sleep once more.

The redhead was the first to wake up in the morning, although it wasn't that light outside yet she needed to use the loo. She wanted to giggle at the way she found herself, all snuggled up to Hermione like the brunette was an additional pillow. Not wanting to wake her friend again, she carefully and slowly moved herself away from her and got out of the bed.

Hermione awoke a few minutes later and had to go through another mental recap on just where she was; she had obviously been deeply asleep and had awoken slightly confused. Then she remembered Ginny and turned her head to see the girl was gone. She was about to call out to see where she was, when she heard the loo flush.

"I didn't wake you up _again_, did I?" Ginny said, upon entering the bedroom and seeing her friend awake and sitting up in the bed, her hand stuck in her bag, looking for things.

"No, at least I don't think you did," Hermione smiled back.

It was around 7.30am, by the small clock that was on the dressing table, and Hermione thought she might as well get up as Dumbledore would be arriving in under two hours. She pulled out several items of clothing, and they decided on using a _tergeo_ spell on the trousers they wore the day before, but wearing different tops. Ginny picked up Harry's blue shirt and donned that; it fitted her fairly well. She was very lucky her boyfriend hadn't been the size of Crabbe or Goyle or it might have looked like she was wearing a tent.

They took turns in using the bathroom, with Ginny using it first, both having a quick wash, brushed their teeth and made themselves look presentable. When Hermione had finished dressing and was ready for the day, she went downstairs and saw that Ginny had already got the range stove fired up and a pot of tea ready.

The two of them both opted for some toast for breakfast, which they decided to make the old way, on the end of a fork in front of the range's fire. It tasted marvellous like that, with a bit of butter spread onto the slices.

"I don't know what I'm going to say when Dumbledore arrives," Ginny said, looking worried and a little nervous now, as the time got nearer to their meeting.

"I think it's best if we let him do the talking, or let him ask the questions to begin with," Hermione said. She was feeling a bit tense herself.

Trying to keep busy, they washed up the few items of the breakfast plates, mugs and cutlery and even wiped over the kitchen table to make things look clean and neat.

Nine o'clock arrived and Hermione was wishing that Kendra had told them Dumbledore would be there on the dot of the hour, instead of the unknowable "just after".

Their fidgetting didn't have to last too long thankfully, as at two minutes after nine o'clock Albus Dumbledore had Apparated to the back garden and walked through to the kitchen where they sat waiting.

"Good morning!" he said, in the same friendly, warm way he always interacted with people, even in their own proper timeline.

Hermione and Ginny stood up as he entered, and although they could clearly see it was Dumbledore, he did look different. He was taller than they remembered, as straight-backed as his mother in her portrait. His beard and hair were greying, but not white, and both seemed very much better groomed and tidy. There were less lines on his face and he looked as though running up a mountain wouldn't be a problem for him. He had on the familiar halfmoon spectacles, but the eyes behind them were even sharper than they remembered. The older Dumbldedore they had known always had a sharpness and twinkle to his eyes, but they still had the slight watery haze that older people's eyes had. This younger Dumbledore's eyes were more blue than seemed possible and looked like he could see through walls with them, a point which neither girl would discredit as possible.

"Professor," Hermione greeted him, almost stumbling over the word. "It's so good to see you."

"Let me see," Dumbledore said, eyeing both of them. He held out a hand to Hermione. "You are Hermione Granger," he shook her hand and smiled. Then he held out a hand to Ginny, "And you must be Ginny Weasley."

Ginny was lost for words for a second or two, but to make up for her feeling of incredible awkwardness she managed to ask. "Would you like a cup of tea Professor? We have a pot on the go."

"That sounds like a very good idea, thank you. Milk and one sugar please," he said. "I think we'll go to the sitting room, much more comfortable."

Hermione and Dumbledore walked through to the sitting room, and Ginny followed a couple of minutes later with a cup of tea which she placed on a small table near to the armchair the wizard was sitting in. Ginny and Hermione sat on the sofa, side by side.

"Hmm," Dumbledore said, as he had a sip of tea. "Where to start? In this case, to start at the beginning is also to start at the end, and in fact there may not be a start or an end anyway."

Ginny looked at Hermione, and Hermione looked at Ginny, not knowing what to make of that statement, and wondering if they needed a translation book to follow what the younger Dumbledore was saying.

The wizard looked at them and chuckled. "Forgive me, it is by far more difficult for you to be here than me, yes?" The girls just sort of nodded. "All right, let's start with what I know about our first contact here. My mother said that you know nothing and there was chaos?"

"Yes, sir," Hermione answered, thinking very carefully about how to say things, without giving away things she wasn't sure Dumbledore wanted to know. "I agreed to this 'back-up plan', and was about to be told what the details were when the situation became very much worse and I agreed to let Ginny come with me, but we never got to the part of why we're here or even where we were going or the date, even. We just got sort of dumped here."

"Didn't Professor McGonagall explain _anything_?" he asked. Hermione raised a surprised eyebrow. Dumbledore smiled again. "Yes, I know Minerva McGonagall, you could say we are co-conspirators."

"I'm sorry, sir," Hermione said. "I just know we have to be careful with this whole 'time' thing and I don't know how to tell you things or just how much I _can_ tell you?"

"You are wise to be cautious, Hermione, very wise indeed," he said warmly. "I hope you are also not using Riddle's later name? In case it draws attention in some way?"

"We thought of that sir, as his name was a taboo in the months leading up to the ba...to our being here, so we're keeping that same caution here," said Hermione, stumbling over whether mentioning the Battle was a wise move or not.

"Excellent," he said genuinely impressed. "Going back to what you can and can't say to me. There are some things about the time you have come from that I know already, such as the Battle you nearly mentioned," he smiled again. "We'll face each issue as it arises, I can cast a tongue-tied curse very quickly when I need to if something is close to being said that I shouldn't know," he said with another smile. "For now, let's start with Minerva not being able to tell you any details. Is she all right?"

"She was alive when we left," Ginny answered quietly. "But fighting was raging all around us, the castle was being blown apart all over the place, and just as she was about to tell us, the room got hit and then there was no time and we had to go then, or not at all."

"I see," said the wizard. "So how did you know to come here, to my house?"

Hermione went on to tell Dumbledore about how they had discovered their location and the year and how they tried to find his house and felt they were just blundering around blind, and that the key in the phoenix's mouth was pure luck and chance.

"Humphrey didn't give you _too_ much trouble, I hope?" Dumbledore asked.

"Humphrey?" asked Ginny and Hermione together.

"My door guardian."

"He has a name?" Ginny asked in disbelief.

"Of course he does, but over the years he does have a habit or hanging on to the key, even when I've wanted to enter the front door myself."

"We...er...managed okay with...Humphrey," Hermione said, also a bit bewildered that the door knocker had a name.

"Did you find my letter?" Albus asked.

"Yes, we did," answered Hermione.

"We most definitely picked the right person," the wizard said almost to himself, beaming at Hermione. "Such initiative and courage; from you both," he said turning to Ginny as well.

"You always told us...," Hermione paused. "I mean, the other you, always told us to use our instincts, and believe in ourselves."

"The other me, ahh yes," he said amused. "Not a bad fellow, was he?"

"Was?" Ginny asked uncertain.

"Well I assume I didn't make the last Battle and what I asked Severus to do, came to pass?"

"Y...yes," Hermione answered, totally unsettled and in awe. She decided not to question the 'asking Severus' part of that sentence, as she had already wondered a while ago whether Snape was all that he seemed, and there was more to Dumbledore's death than there first appeared to be.

"I can see this disturbs you greatly, I'm sorry for that," he said seriously. "But the fact is, I came back here to talk to me, probably shortly before...my end. This plan was devised a while before that happened, when I knew I had made a mistake in how I handled that ring horcrux and sealed my fate. I knew we might need something else."

Dumbledore sipped his tea and then said. "Forgive me for asking, but I must. Is Harry Potter dead?"

Ginny had gone a little pale and nodded and Hermione said, "Yes."

"A pity, a very great pity. But that was the only stipulation for putting this plan into action, if he died, so I had to check," he said.

"I don't mean to be rude or impatient," Hermione said. "But all I've heard is the mention of this 'plan', we don't have any idea what it entails, or why we're here. Could you, or are you able to tell us something? Anything, to help us in the right direction, please sir?"

Albus Dumbledore drank the rest of his tea, and studied the two women looking at him expectantly. They were so young, and had probably seen things they shouldn't have had to see and been involved in a battle that had tested them to the limit. However, they had been brilliant and resourceful in how they had reacted to their situation and with no help whatsoever, had found his house, got past Humphrey, found his letter and were sounding ready to get on with their mission, even though they didn't know yet, what that was. His older self had been right, as had Minerva; Hermione Granger was a very talented and special young woman and Ginny Weasley appeared to have the grit and resolve her whole family and ancestors possessed. If anyone had a chance to get close to making this work, it was the two women in front of him now.

"I can't tell you every detail, because the first part of this plan...I like the word 'plan', makes me feel like a muggle bank-robber," he chuckled. "Sorry, I digress. I can't tell you everything because you will do something that hasn't been set out yet, it will be something new in the timeline." Seeing Hermione about to protest. "Do not worry, it is not changing a big event in history, only altering an almost invisible fact, which won't even be known until your own time. And then, it will only be us who know about it. We _hope_ it won't be known by anyone else anyway, that is if you succeed."

Ginny and Hermione exchanged uncertain, slightly confused looks again. The grand wizard smiled at them, trying to convey reassurance.

"So I can tell you your objective, but you will have to undertake it and work out a plan for yourselves. I can not be too involved with that part," he studied them. "I assume you are familiar with the Deathly Hallows?"

"Yes."

"No." The 'no' had been voiced by Ginny.

"You are from a wizarding family, are you not?" Dumbledore asked Ginny, who nodded. "Then you are familiar with the Tales of Beedle the Bard?" Again she nodded. "Do you know the Tale of the Three Brothers?"

"Yes," Ginny said uncertainly, and then a thought hit her. "Are you saying, some of it is true?" She was waiting to be laughed at, but heard no laughter.

"Whether the characters themselves acted in the ways they did, is neither here nor there, however, their special artefacts are real. And those three items are the Deathly Hallows."

Ginny looked amazed and looked at Hermione to see her friend just nod at her. Here she was sitting in Dumbledore's house in Godric's Hollow in 1943 and being told the Three Brothers' items were real? Everything since she had arrived here was weird and kept on getting weirder; _Maybe I should just forget to be surprised now_, she thought.

"Harry always had the Invisibility Cloak," Hermione told her friend.

"His cloak is _THE_ cloak?" Ginny exclaimed, already forgetting to forget about being surprised.

"Yes it is," Dumbledore said. "Passed from father to son for generations. But he also had a second Hallow."

"He _did_?" asked an even more astonished Ginny.

"Ron and I didn't believe him when he became convinced he had it," Hermione said, with almost a tone of shame. "But he did have the Resurrection Stone, of that I'm sure."

"I told myself I was hiding it in a snitch?" Dumbledore asked, then chuckled. "I mean the other me told me that was my intention."

"Yes, you left Harry a snitch," Hermione replied, ignoring for the moment that Ginny was looking more aghast with each sentence she or the wizard spoke. "I don't know if he got the Stone free from it. He knew it had something to do with opening it with his mouth somehow, because it was the first snitch he caught and he almost swallowed it!"

"It was a rather brilliant idea of mine, don't you think?" the wizard smiled. "Most people would assume a snitch is always caught by the hand. It would have been interesting to know if he had opened the snitch, but nevermind, that part doesn't need to be changed, it is almost irrelevant now."

"So, the other you came back to talk with _you_?" Ginny managed to ask, in a odd flat tone.

"I was going to ask about that myself," said Hermione. "I thought it was dangerous to do that kind of thing?"

"Well, I _am_ me, as was the other me," he said, with no tone of arrogance at all but a twinkle in his blue eyes, which gave all the answers they needed to know. Other wizards or witches might go mad upon meeting with themselves in time travel, but Albus Dumbledore was a different prospect and not just any old wizard or witch.

"Right, so back to the Hallows, sir?" Hermione prodded.

"Yes, the Resurrection Stone," the wizard said, then he looked at Ginny quizzically. "Are you aware of horcuxes?"

"Hermione told me about them," the redhead answered.

"Excellent. Well, we...that is to say, me and me, believe the Stone to have been altered by its transfer in becoming a horcrux, and then altered once more when the soul particle was destroyed. Riddle himself had no idea what he actually possessed, which is all well and good for what needs to be done."

Hermione and Ginny had shifted forward slightly on the sofa, eager to hear the next part, which seemed to be getting closer to the point of them being here.

"Wait," Hermione said. "That horcrux hasn't been made yet?"

"None have yet, or so I've been told," Dumbledore replied.

"How can you not do anything, if you know what is going to happen?" asked Hermione, anxiously.

"Like you, I respect the laws of time and the events that need to happen and that can not be changed. If I save one person, or prevent one event, does that mean more people are in danger and other events that should happen never can? We have to leave the main elements alone. I know what happens this June. I will do what I apparently always did, watch Riddle carefully and follow my instincts, for beyond this year I know not much else, thankfully, until your time."

Ginny looked again at Hermione, wondering what was special about June 1943, when Hermione answered the question herself and reminded Ginny of the big events of the year again.

"A student gets killed in a bathroom," Hermione said calmly. "By the basilisk from the Chamber of Secrets."

"Sadly, yes." Albus Dumbledore said with feeling.

"That student remains as a ghost, and she does help Harry a couple of times," Hermione offered.

"There you have it," the wizard said. "If I saved her, maybe Harry would not have the particular help he needs and is in danger at the wrong time, or something else happens. I know you understand these things Hermione. It's hard, but always stick to those principles...to what I and Professor McGonagall told you when you first used a Time-Turner."

"Hermione told me about that, and we know it's the right thing to do and to work with, but...it _is_ very hard sir," Ginny said.

"Where do we come in and what's the connection with the Hallow?" Hermione asked, ready to move onwards again.

"We...myself and Professors McGonagall and Flitwick, would like to get hold of the Resurrection Stone before Riddle turns it into a horcrux. I can not tell you the exact reasons for it, not yet, but it is something we would very much like to achieve."

"What?" Hermione couldn't help the tone of disbelief, mirrored by Ginny mouthing the same word without any volume.

"As you may or may not know, he makes that Stone into a horcrux later this year, we suspect it to be after June, possibly in the summer holidays or just before then. You need to find and take possession of the Stone, if you can, well before he does."

That piece of information was greeted with disconcerted silence for several moments.

"Say, we _can_ find it," Hermione began. "Won't that just mean Riddle will use something else as a horcux, which will then be another unknown object in our own time, which we have to find?"

"Do you remember what I said? It will hopefully not be known about." Dumbledore opened a pouch on his belt and pulled out a ring. "If you can, we want you to swap the real Resurrection Stone Ring with this." He handed it to Hermione.

For all intents and purposes the ring was identical to that of the real one which held the real Stone. It had the Deathly Hallows mark in it; the triangle cloak, the circle inside for the stone and the line through the middle for the wand.

"Sir? Won't he know that this is fake and has no power as such? I know nearly anything can be made into a horcrux, but we always thought he could feel the power of the items he chose, even their ancestry?"

"A very good question," Dumbledore said. "We thought of that too and the stone you have there is very rare type of dark sapphire found at the bottom of the Lake at Hogwarts. It has some magical properties, but it's essentially very old and mystical. It would have enough 'feeling' as it were, to be taken as a genuine article."

As Hermione looked at the Ring another question came to her about their whole appearance here.

"Professor," Hermione began. "If you handed this fake to me now and that is part of our objective then we were always meant to meet with you when we arrived then?"

"Yes," Dumbledore replied. "Of course no one knew exactly when that would be from your time, but yes we were to meet as soon as we could, for me to give you the Ring copy. Minerva was confident that you would be back at Hogwarts for the Battle, as the other me thought would happen. You were always our choice, and we were always to meet, if this plan was ever put into action."

"It's just, Mrs. Dumbledore was a bit awkward with us, almost as if we weren't supposed to contact you or only if we were bleeding and the house was falling down?"

Dumbledore gave another brilliant smile. "Mothers," he said. "Protective, fierce in their loyalty and once living as a portrait, obstinate and cantankerous from head to toe."

"Oh," Hermione said. "I don't think she liked us much."

"Don't take it personally," the wizard said, good humouredly. "However, even she would never have refused to take your message to me, she just wanted to appear that she was the one in control."

Ginny had been quiet, taking everything in, but now she spoke again. "This is all well and good," she said, sounding a little befuddled. "But going back to our task; where on earth do we look to find the real Stone. Especially if it's been made into a ring, anyone could be wearing it...even muggle royalty maybe? It might even be out of the country!"

"Hermione, did Harry tell you about everything he learned and saw when he spent time with me?" Dumbledore asked, focusing on the brunette instead.

"Yes."

"Did he mention the Gaunt family?"

Hermione nodded slowly, trying to recall everything Harry had spoken to herself and Ron about. _Now, what was it about the Gaunts and a ring, or what Harry thought was the connection? He said he saw the ring flashed about, but not clearly enough to see the symbol...a coat of arms maybe...the Deathly Hallows._

"On my god!" Hermione said, with realization.

"What?" Ginny asked, once again confused.

"We have to find Riddle's Gaunt relation, specifically the one who has the Ring? Before Riddle has a chance to murder his father to turn the Ring into a horcrux?" she questioned Dumbledore.

"Essentially, yes," he said.

"But Gaunt's mad, they all were...literally. Harry told me they only spoke parseltongue, how can Ginny and I hope to swap the Ring in those circumstances? But the real question here, is why can't you do this yourself? Why couldn't Professor McGonagall do this? Why do you need us?"


	10. Helen and Joan

**A/N: Next chapter ready. :) **

**Due to the scatty mess of the Battle of Hogwarts it's not absolutely certain how much Ginny knew of the things Hermione knew. So it's a little guess work as to what they might have discussed, and that there were some things Ginny had heard of but not in detail...such as Snape's death.**

10: Helen and Joan

The atmosphere in the sitting room was almost crackling with realization, with fear, and with uncertainty and a need to understand.

"Another very good set of questions," Dumbledore answered Hermione. "The problem is that Riddle already suspects I am keeping a closer eye on him, and in regards to the place you must go to find the Gaunt house...a shack really, he is likely to have already marked the place. This past year he has taken an almost unhealthy interest in the village of his father and mother, and as I do know, he will go there with another purpose other than sightseeing. It's possible he has warded the area and would know the moment I entered the place, and certainly anyone Apparating to it. I also can not take too much part in the road you must travel. I am of this place and time and must remain as I always did. You two however are not of this place and have a little more freedom. As to Professor McGonagall, she would never leave the school and the students, her duty is there with them and that can not be altered, the same can be said for Professor Flitwick, although with Filius he also has the problem of not being able to blend in with muggles so easily. Just as a very large person stands out, so does a very small one. And again, he sees his duty the same as Minerva."

"From what you've said it sounds like you know the village or town where the Gaunt place is?" asked Ginny hopefully.

"Yes, and that much I can tell you. It's on the outskirts of a village called Little Hangleton quite a bit further north from here. Both the Riddles and the Gaunts have lived and do live there," the wizard said.

"Harry...he's been...he went to the graveyard there...," Hermione whispered, almost to herself.

"So we definitely can't Apparate there?" Ginny asked, with anxiety present in her voice again, wondering if any warding didn't include themselves.

"No, you can't Apparate directly to it. We don't know how wide any warding might be and it would be a good idea not to use any magic at all, as hard as that sounds, but you don't want to draw attention to the wrong people that something is going on in the village."

"We can't use a stunning spell on Gaunt to get the Ring off him?" Hermione asked.

"If you have to, you have to, but always think of a back-up, and maybe consider another option first. One use of magic might be enough to cause many things to happen and all of them targeted at you," Dumbledore told them. "As it is, you'll have to travel most of the way there as muggles, just to be on the safe side. It would be disastrous for anyone to know of your intentions before you got anywhere near to your goal."

"That might be a bit problematic, sir," said Hermione thoughtfully. "We don't have muggle money, not for this time period, we don't have any indentification, and from what I know people were required to carry some form of identification at all times. And lastly, would two people such as Ginny and myself be travelling a long way from wherever we're supposed to come from in 1943?"

"I'm impressed with your knowledge," Dumbledore said. "It might prove to be very useful, and sounds like it has been already. I must say I'm so pleasantly surprised to find someone thinking beyond the normal limitations and thinking in the way that I do."

Dumbledore smiled warmly at both the young women, then he got up from his armchair and went to one of the cabinets in the room, removing a leather folder from a drawer, before sitting back in the armchair and opening the folder.

Firstly the wizard took out a small coin purse and a wallet. "You'll find in the purse every type of muggle coin in use, halfpenny, threepence, sixpence, shilling and so on and I'm hoping that you'll be able to transfigure any money you have or other objects into the money you require. The wallet holds the notes of the era, but in truth most people would only see a ten shilling note, very few people were wealthy enough to carry around pound notes and very rarely five pound notes. However there are examples of those in there, should you need more money. I'm sure I don't need to warn you, but this doesn't mean you have a right to print money; only transfigure what you really need, it's also less suspicious if you don't have much money on you. You are able to transfigure money?"

"Yes." Both Ginny and Hermione answered, knowing they were both capable. Hermione's work on the DA coins were proof enough of that kind of magic.

"Good," said Dumbledore, as he then removed from the folder some small pieces of card and papers. "We prepared some identity cards for you. Thankfully most in 1943 didn't require a photo. There are also some ration books. We thought it best to create a new identity for you both, just in case our plan has been infiltrated in some way and the other side have people here too, and in such cases one becomes extremely paranoid. It's best to be prepared for such things. I doubt anyone could do what you have done, but one never knows."

He handed the first identity cards to Hermione, who wanted to laugh at the peculiarity of the whole situation when she saw her name. According to the card she was Helen Summers, and not only was she a couple of years older than her real age but upon looking at the other card she had been handed, she also answered to Corporal Summers in the...

"Oh my god!" Hermione said, giving a little laugh. "I'm a WAAF!"

"You're a _what_?" Ginny asked.

"According to these cards, I'm in the Women's Auxiliary Air Force!" the brunette said, giving another giggle.

"Yes, we've given you references and passes for being part of the WAAF who travel from base to base for something to do with signals and the rather ingenius methods muggles call telecommunications," said an enthused Dumbledore. "Our knowledge base tells us, that one such as you would have a little freedom to go about her business, providing you have the correct papers, which you are holding. You can be seen virtually anywhere and most people will think you are meant to be there. You will only have to use those names if you are checked up on somewhere or you have to stay somewhere. I am told that sometimes women such as yourselves would occasionally be assigned to look at trees all over the country, for usage in the military...telegraph poles and so on, or setting up communication lines."

"Alright then, what am I to become?" Ginny asked, half anxious and half bordering on excited.

"Ahh, I just need to...," Dumbledore said as he waved a hand over the other identity cards and papers he still held to change some details. "We were not sure if Hermione would be accompanied but if she was we thought it might be one of your brothers. No matter, the change is easy enough," he said as he handed her the cards.

Ginny looked over the cards and and saw that she was also in the WAAF, and was called Joan Townsend, but she didn't understand the title on her military identity.

"I seem to be an 'Aircraftswoman Class 1', do I outrank you Hermione?" she asked, wondering.

"I'm not really sure," the brunette replied.

"I'm afraid not," Dumbledore said. "We needed one of you to be slightly higher ranked than the other. One to have more authority than the other and appear to be in charge of their task."

Hermione laughed. "I get to order you around, Ginny!"

"Great, Corporal Hermyhoney has made my day!" replied Ginny.

Even Dumbledore was amused by the banter between the two young women.

"Sir?" Hermione began again, as another problem arose in her busy mind. "If we have these identities, wouldn't we be in uniform? Have we got to transfigure our clothes in some way?"

"In one of the bedrooms upstairs you will find all the clothes you need in a wardrobe. Any male clothing can be easily transfigured to the female version as you'll have a least one set to work by. You'll find some information on how to wear the uniforms and how to look like you really are what you're supposed to be."

Dumbledore looked at the clock and saw that it was approaching 11am. "I must leave you now," he said ready to rise from his chair. "I have told you all I can for the moment."

"Professor, if we succeed and we get the real Ring, what do we do? Do we come to Hogwarts to find you? Do we take the Ring somewhere?" asked Ginny.

"No, never come to Hogwarts," Dumbledore said very sternly. "It is far too dangerous for yourselves and for 'time' itself. If you can, try to come back here and contact me via my mother's portrait. If you're unable to return, things will be more difficult, but I have faith in you to work something out. If you succeed, please guard that Ring with all you have, never let it out of your sight, it is most important."

Hermione and Ginny stood up and walked through to the kitchen with Dumbledore. He shook their hands and gave them his most encouraging, warm smile.

"Always remember how far you have come, and that even in the darkest moments your true Gryffindor spirit can always be found. The Sorting Hat never makes a mistake. Farewell and goodluck."

The wizard turned and walked out of the kitchen, through the scullery and in moments he had Disapparated from the back garden and was gone. It left Hermione and Ginny feeling drained, and overwhelmed by the whole meeting with the younger Dumbledore, and that was before they tried to digest the news of just what their task was and what it would involve.

Hermione flopped down on one of the chairs at the kitchen table, and Ginny did the same, expelling a huge sigh as she did so.

"Wow!" was all Ginny could say.

"Yeah," Hermione answered.

"They don't expect much do they?" Ginny said, breaking the few moments of silence, sounding slightly angry now. "Find a dangerous, complete nutcase who only speaks parseltongue and swap his ring, all before another total nutcase can come and kill his father and turn the said ring into a bloody horcrux! Oh, this is as easy as an essay on the uses of frog's eyes!" she gesticulated a little wildly with her arms. "And yes, while you do this you'll be in the middle of a muggle war dressed up as a soldier, and use a different name, because just in case, there might be other people here out to get you! And by the way, try not to use magic!"

"That's about the gist of it," Hermione said drily. "I noticed that he didn't say why they want the Resurrection Stone? And it seems to me, that unless we actually have the Ring or have a fate worse than death situation, that he doesn't seem to want to have contact with us."

"Yes, I kind of noticed the, 'if you can't get back here, tough luck, I can't really help!' tone he had," Ginny said. "The next question is, when do we set out on our nutter-hunt?"

"I suppose that depends on us," Hermione replied. "We can't leave it too long, but we ought to get used to our clothes and identities a little. We need to look at our papers and get an idea about the journey we're making and sort out a few little details as well. I noticed we have papers to use trains, so that shouldn't feel too odd for us."

"Speak for yourself, Helen!" chuckled Ginny.

Hermione had to smile at that, but added another thought to their problems. "He never said anything about what happens if we can't get the Ring, if we fail. Is he confident we can do this? Or is he saying, that we can not fail at all costs?"

"Arghhh! It seems to me there were a lot of things he never said," answered Ginny. "I don't know, maybe failing here...means we fail back there..._our_ Hogwarts."

"Perhaps he didn't want to add to the pressure?" suggested Hermione. "Maybe that's why he didn't say what this whole thing hopes to achieve?"

"Or maybe he keeps too many damn secrets?"

"I'm afraid to say, that you might be right on that score," said the brunette, unable to forget all the things she had read about Dumbledore in that biography by Rita Skeeter and all the things Aberforth had told them. Even if you only took a third of the issues as having some basis in fact, it still didn't give a picture of Dumbledore as someone who told the whole truth, or more accurately it pointed to a man who kept back vital information and for reasons only he himself knew.

Another few moments of silence ensued as the girls were deep in thought, still trying to process the information they _had_ been told.

"I think we have to trust him," Hermione suddenly said. "We have to trust _this_ Dumbledore _and_ the one we knew."

Ginny looked astounded for a moment, so Hermione continued her line of thought.

"This whole situation must have taken so much planning," said Hermione. "It is dangerous, not just for us, but to time itself. Dumbledore would never risk something so serious on a vague chance or whim. He told us to remember our Gryffindor spirit, which is similar to things he always told Harry before he ended up in some dangerous situation. We have to trust him, because if we hold too many doubts, we'll never have our full hearts into this task and we need everything we have to get close to making this work."

"Trust him, even though he so obviously hasn't told us everything?"

"He must have his reasons," Hermione said, thinking. "He never told Harry about the true connection to Sirius Black that year, because he feared Harry would hunt him down, and in some ways that nearly happened. He was trying to protect Harry and take away the wrong options for him. He tried to shield him from the mind link with You Know Who...okay it didn't work, but he was trying to protect Harry."

"Do you know what he meant about Snape doing something that he asked him to and it came to pass?" asked a thoughtful Ginny. "He can't have meant asking Snape to get himself killed by You Know Who, surely? It sounded more like...something to do with his own death?"

"I'm not sure," her friend replied. "We were there when Snape died. Harry, Ron and I were there when it happened. He desperately wanted Harry to have his memories...you know, for the pensieve. It took the last of his strength to do it. But we have no way to know if they held something important about Dumbledore, the Battle or You Know Who, because Harry had the memories and we separated off and then...well, we know what happened."

"You Know Who kills one of his best supporters? Essentially his righthand man? Maybe Snape was...," the redhead tailed off thinking hard.

"That's what I'm thinking. Maybe Snape was a double agent, being all close to Him but really working for the Order, and You Know Who discovered his duplicity amongst other things. I've thought a lot about some of the events that have happened. Snape killing Dumbledore just seems odd...the timing of it, everything. I can't say what it is, but I'm not sure what we _think_ happened is exactly what _did_ happen."

"But, Harry saw it!"

"I know, Gin," Hermione replied. "I believe him too, of course I do. But, something about it all, is wrong. What if Snape killed Dumbledore to save Draco Malfoy?"

"What? And Dumbledore stands there smiling and says 'Of course' I'd much rather die from your wand, Snape, than Malfoy's'?" asked an incredulous Ginny.

"I don't know," the brunette continued. "I just think there's more to the whole thing than we know. But I do know we have to trust Dumbledore...both Dumbledores."

The thoughtful Ginny, studied her friend for a moment, taking in all that she had said; she knew Hermione was right, and they had so little to cling to that they had to trust something.

"We'll trust him," Ginny said. "But I think we should trust each other more."

"Agreed," Hermione said, actually feeling a surge of strength rise inside her as she thought of herself and Ginny facing their task together. She reached across the table and grabbed Ginny's hand. "Together, whatever we have to face."

The redhead had a tenacious look on her face as she clasped Hermione's hand firmly in return. In that moment it was nearly as though they had made an Unbreakable Vow, to each other and to the task they had been set. They both seemed to know the significance of the moment, and smiled and nodded to each other. It was an unspoken _'Right, we're going to do this!'_.

**A/N: A little note on pronounciation. The abbreviated term 'WAAF' was said as one word and pronounced as 'waff'...like naff. Sometimes RAF would be said similarly as 'raff'.**


	11. Uniforms

**A/N: This chapter is a bit of fun, and despite that, elements of it will turn up again later. :) There will be a couple of chapters of preparations like this one, before the show really gets on the road...so you might think things are a little slow, but it all adds to the characters and the atmospherics of the period. **

**Although I can't always promise that the history will be kept accurate, because it's secondary to my story and needs a tweak for my purposes, I'll try to keep the essence and main parts authentic. It's a period of social and military history I've always had an interest in, particularly the roles of women then. I'm also a collector of medals and militaria and love looking at uniforms and insignia. I've been very fortunate to have many family members with memories of living through that time...it's so sad that that generation are becoming fewer each year and are leaving us. :/**

11: Uniforms

A while after talking over their meeting with Dumbledore, Ginny and Hermione decided to go upstairs and look for the clothes the wizard had told them about.

First they looked in the bedroom they had slept in, but the small wardrobe in there was empty. They went to the second bedroom to the larger wardrobe and opened it to find several items of clothing on hangers.

Hermione pulled out one hanger which held a jacket in a military style, in a material that didn't look the most comfortable. It wasn't denim and it wasn't brushed cotton, but somewhere in between, and it was of a grey-blue; under the jacket on the same hanger hung a very straight-lined skirt in the same colour material.

"I always wanted to dress like a frump!" Hermione said with a tone of sarcasm.

Ginny felt the garments and scrunched her face up slightly. "Almost itchy, isn't it?"

They looked over the uniform's attached felt and embroidered badges. There was an eagle in flight on the top sides of both shoulders, below which was a square badge of a fist holding lightning rods.

"Look," Hermione pointed to the badge."I'm pretty sure that means 'communications' but it almost looks magical." Under the telecommunications badge were two chevrons, point downwards. "And I'm sure that's for the rank of corporal." Hermione said.

Hermione looked at the other hangers in the wardrobe, and found another jacket in a less smart style and more itchy than the first one, along with a pair of matching trousers; there was a light blue blouse, with a small dark neck tie, and then she found a couple of jackets and trousers for the male uniform. The male uniform had the same eagles on the shoulders and the lightning fist badge, but no chevrons. There were also two large overcoats, in the same grey-blue; they didn't look all that wonderful, but were probably warm at least.

Hanging from another hanger were two box shaped bags, in a non descript shade of grey-beige. Ginny opened one and pulled out the contents.

"What the hell is this?" said the redhead, holding at arm's length from her and with a look of distaste, a black rubbery item, with what looked like goggles attached to it.

"Oh!" Hermione said, with realization. "That's a gas mask. Everyone was issued with them. Although thankfully, I don't think there were many times, if any, when they were ever used, beyond drills."

"A gas mask?" Ginny asked confused.

"It was feared that not only bombs would be dropped on Britain, but also poisonous gasses or chemicals. These rather horrid things," said Hermione, taking the mask from Ginny. "were meant to protect the wearer from breathing anything in." Hermione thought about trying it on, but as soon as her nose got near to the place to pull the mask on, she had to back away from the horrid smell of rubber.

"So we don't have to wear them?" asked a very worried Ginny.

"No, thank Merlin," said Hermione, putting the mask back in the box. "But I think we'll have to have them with us at all times, like everyone else."

"Maybe we should take them back to Hogwarts when we go," Ginny said with a wry smile. "Try and scare the Death Eaters with our own masks!"

There was a shelf in the wardrobe to one side and on this they found a small folder. Ginny picked it up and opened it to find a couple of magical photos of how the smarter marginally less itchy uniforms should look when worn. They both had no idea how Dumbledore had got a photo of muggles wearing the uniforms as it seemed unlikely he would trust anyone to model it for photos. The magical photos were very helpful as the viewer got an all-around view of the person wearing it, as they moved about.

There was also some information about simple things, to do with travelling and what papers were needed for specific things. As Hermione had thought, the gas masks were mentioned as something to always have with them. It was with relief that she read WAAFs didn't always have tin hats with them...because she couldn't imagine having to lug that around too. It seemed there were none in the wardrobe anyway.

On the same shelf Ginny found the folder, were two hats. From the photos they were able to tell that the flatter peaked cap was for the men's uniform and the stranger hat, almost puffy in shape was the female version. The hats were also in the same grey-blue colour; and both had a brass cap badge affixed to the front, showing the letters RAF surrounded by a laurel wreath and topped by a crown.

"This hat is going to be hideous! It looks like a pudding!" Ginny said, disliking the clothes they would be wearing in the near future more and more with each part of them she saw.

"Are there any shoes in the wardrobe?" asked Hermione as she was still looking at the photos in the folder.

"Yuck!"

"What?"

"Yes, there _are_ some shoes," Ginny said. "Possibly something Auntie Muriel would wear!"

Ginny pulled out a pair of black shoes, which had no redeeming feature other than looking robust and hardwearing; mostly they looked very matronly. The men's version were nicer, but they knew they couldn't wear those without it looking a little strange, and they didn't want anything about themselves to draw attention, if it could be helped.

"Right, well, let's try transfiguring the second uniform," said Hermione, sounding all business-like.

They laid out the smarter of the uniforms, side by side on the large double bed, and Hermione studied the woman's outfit, then drew out her wand and began changing the men's clothing into a replica of the women's.

First the jacket shrunk a little, and became a little more tailored at the waist, and then the trouser legs blurred together as they joined, flared out and shrunk upwards. The men's shirt was easily turned into a better fitting version for Ginny. The hat was a little trickier, but having the template of what it should look like next to it, made it easier. After the hat, the shoes were more simple, and after a few minutes there were two reasonably smart WAAF personnel uniforms on the bed. The second overcoat, Hermione was able to transfigure as it hung in the wardrobe next to the female one; by this point she felt almost expert at transfiguring clothes.

"Say, you couldn't transfigure me some corporal stripes, could ya?" Ginny asked, hopeful.

"No," Hermione laughed. "Besides, you don't have the papers to match the rank."

"Papers can be changed," pouted Ginny, but with good humour.

"I think we'd better stick to the plan on this."

"_You_ would say that, you get to order _me_ around!"

Hermione laughed again. "It's only hypothetical ordering around, I doubt I'll have to pull rank at any time. We're in this together, remember? We're both just as valuable as each other!"

Ginny smiled back at her. "I suppose we better try these..._uniforms_...on?" Ginny said, asking but not really wanting to bring that time any closer. "The rougher uniforms looked more comfortable, but it looks like we'll be wearing these ones," she sighed.

Hermione gave a small expression that was somewhere between a grimace and amusement. She began unbuttoning her shirt, giving a resigned grin to her friend, who rolled her eyes and started to undress too.

They left the muggle photos on the bottom of the bed to refer to if they needed. On went the blouses and the shortened neck ties. On went the rather plain-cut skirts, and over the top the frumpy service jacket with its belt.

"Don't we get socks? Or something?" asked Ginny, looking over at the photos and information papers again.

"No, we wear stockings, though," Hermione said, going over to the wardrobe and seeing a couple of packets of new stockings, but of grey lisle WAAF issue. There were a couple of packets of what looked like WAAF issue underwear with a built-in suspender belt with hooks, which didn't look at all comfortable.

"If you think I'm going to wear a suspender belt, then you can think again!" Ginny protested.

"Well you'll look a bit funny with your stockings around your ankles, won't you?" the brunette chuckled. "You wear these instead...built-in belt," Hermione smiled as she chucked a pair of the horrid industrial strength panties at Ginny.

"Ye gods and fairies! I can't wear these!" Ginny said horrified. "I suppose magic is out of the question?"

"Yeah, I'm not sure if even a small holding-up-stockings spell will be safe, where _we're_ going," answered Hermione. "I think we'll have to opt for these belts."

Awkwardly, they both tried on and adjusted to their new underwear to accomodate their extra requirements and put on the stockings.

"Eww!" Hermione exclaimed after she had put on the rather thick stockings. "I feel and probably look like Nora Batty!"

"Who?"

"She was this old character on a muggle television show. Her stockings were always wrinkled and frumpy looking."

Sitting on the bed to put on their shoes, did little to detach the Nora Batty thoughts in Hermione's mind. "Okay, just the hat," she said. She tied her hair back and then picked up the rather horrid looking hat and plonked it on her head.

Ginny looked at the hat, as if it held poisonous spiders or might carry a contagious disease. She too, tied back her hair and donned the hat.

"How do I look?" the redhead asked, with almost closed eyes, waiting for the ridicule.

"Look in the mirror," Hermione said, grabbing hold of Ginny's hand and pulling her over to the mirror on the inside of one of the wardrobe doors.

"Yuck, yuck, yuck!" Ginny said. "This is so much worse than school uniform."

"I don't know, you look good in uniform," Hermione said. "Where as I look like an over enthusiastic Girl Guide about to go on a picnic!"

"No, you look better than me, Hermione," said Ginny, brushing a loose thread off the back of her friend's jacket.

"I must admit, it feels easier becoming someone or something else, with a costume like this," said Hermione, turning to the side to look at the cut of the jacket. "It's very like slipping on a new character as well as a new coat."

"So, we've completed the clothes part of our agenda," Ginny said. "What's next?"

"I suppose there's not much actual big planning we can do. Not until we get to where we need to be," Hermione said, thinking. "It's small stuff we have to prepare now."

She looked at her watch and saw that they had spent a lot longer upstairs with the uniforms than she thought.

"For now, how about we get something for lunch?" asked Hermione.

"Can we get out of these things first?" asked an almost pleading Ginny.

"We have to get used to them, but I agree this time."

They were faster in taking off the uniforms than they had been putting them on. As they both stood there in their underwear, with Hermione fiddling with her suspenders, not being used to stockings, Ginny started laughing.

"What?" asked Hermione.

"Us!" laughed Ginny. "I mean, look at us! Prancing around in suspenders and stockings! We look like something out of one of my brothers' sad magazines they oggle over!"

Hermione looked down at herself and had to laugh too. Even though the clothing bordered on the grandmotherly rather than the height of fashion, she had to admit that they both looked a little sexy, attired in their current state.

Now, greatly tickled by the situation Hermione stood up straight and flung an arm out wantonly to lean on the wardrobe door, flicking her head back like models did in shampoo adverts on the television. She got completely behind the door, then stuck a leg out, feeling the edge of it seductively with her foot and peeped sexily around the door.

Ginny was in hysterics, she was laughing so hard, she had to flop down on the bed to avoid falling down. "Oh god!" laughed the redhead. "Don't!"

Hermione snorted loudly and had to collapse on the bed laughing too. After so much pain and stress in recent days, it felt so good to have a laugh. Not just a giggle, but a big gut-achingly good laugh, however silly the provocation to it had been.

As they had crumpled there in laughter one of their information sheets turned over, flipping over a photo in the process. Hermione picked them up and groaned loudly. "Why didn't we check the back of these?" she asked, annoyed.

"What does it say?"

"It says," Hermione read from the information page. "'Although WAAF personnel mainly wore the smart 'service dress' with skirt, they often wore more practical...TROUSERS and Battle Dress jacket..especially when on work assignments'! We're so stupid sometimes! We wouldn't have had to muck around with these awful bloody things, if we had only checked the other side of this page and the photo! I admit the even more itchy uniform doesn't really appeal, but it's better than this terrible outfit."

"So wearing these horrid suspender pants wasn't necessary? It was optional?" asked Ginny. However, the annoyance in her voice soon turned to a snort of laughter. "It's pretty funny though, isn't it? I mean, look at us?" she illustrated her point by pinging one of the suspender hooks.

"I'm so glad Dumbledore didn't come back without us knowing!" Hermione said. "What on earth would he think of us?"

"I've no idea," Ginny said, still tittering a little. "My brothers would have enjoyed it I'm sure."

That calmed them both to a silence again. Ginny's brothers. It kind of gave them a reality check of what had happened and why they were here. Both women knew what the other was thinking and they reached for each others hands.

"We're going to see them again, Gin," said Hermione firmly. "I'll do anything to try and succeed here, and we'll both see them again. I'll do anything to make that happen and avoid anymore loss."

Ginny gripped her friend's hand tight. "I know."

"I suppose we had better get out of this stuff and I'll quickly turn those other trousers into female ones. We can't stay like this, that's for sure! It's unlikely anyone will be dropping by, but I'm not sure this is the side of me I want to present to the world," said Hermione amused again, as she moved to sit on the edge of the bed and stood up.

"I don't know, it's not a bad side," said Ginny, who then playfully swatted Hermione's backside with the back of her hand, and started to chuckle again.

Hermione spun round and grinned. "What is it with you Weasley's and my backside?"

"You're using Weasley in the plural?" asked Ginny, highly interested.

"Let's just say everyone, except your parents, has now had a feel-up in one way or another!"

"Oh! I hereby apologize for my lecherous brothers," said Ginny, now moving herself, to finish taking off her own stockings and beginning to dress again. "Hang on a minute! Ron has felt-up your arse? Already?"

"Not really," Hermione smiled, she had disentangled herself from her stockings and she pulled on her trousers. "But sometimes that supportive arm of his that has wound its way around me, often drops...lower...quite a bit lower."

"Yeah, that's definitely Ron's style," said Ginny, no longer surprised. "A quick grope, when he thinks no one will notice!"

Hermione laid the other more itchy male trousers on the bed and transfigured them to a more female shape and altered them to Ginny's size.

Both young women put the uniforms back onto hangers and made their way downstairs to come up with an idea for lunch.

Hermione walked through the kitchen and into the pantry, wondering if by looking at their food stock, they would come up with a nice idea, as Ginny went to get some plates and cutlery out. It was Hermione's turn to be surprised though.

"Ginny! Look!"

Ginny walked through to the pantry to find several dishes on the shelves that weren't there before. Hermione lifted the cover on one and it looked like a shepherd's pie. Ginny lifted the cover on a dish nearest to her and it looked and smelled like stew. And another one was almost certainly an apple lattice tart.

"Hogwarts' elves! It has to be!" Hermione said, almost excited.

It was then they found a small note on the shelf next to another dish, which contained a roast chicken, written in Dumbledore's familiar slanted handwriting. It said simply:

_I thought you might like to sample some of Hogwarts' finest._

"I never heard anything?" questioned Ginny.

"Did you ever hear the elves clean your dormitory at Hogwarts? Or clean the Common Room?" Hermione said, her eyes bright. "I expect they just Apparated here, left the food and note and Disapparated back."

"It settles lunch then," Ginny said, lifing the lid on the shepherd's pie again and taking a sniff.

The dishes only needed to be heated up for a short time, and for that they used the range, preferring the quaint way of heating up lunch instead of all wand-work. Besides, they would soon have to get used to not using their wand for mundane things.

After enjoying a magnificent tasting shepherd's pie, which made them both feel wistful about Hogwarts and about home-cooked food, they decided on the apple tart for dessert. Hermione went to get some of their papers while Ginny cut them a portion from the tart.

"Maybe be can make a start on the details for the first part of our journey," said the brunette sitting down with the papers which faked the passes for their travel arrangements.

Having such a lovely lunch, and tasting the food of Hogwarts again had made both women feel confident and somehow stronger, in a way that couldn't be described and not completely understood by themselves.

Hermione passed Ginny's papers to her, and had a mouthful of apple tart as she read over the main things they needed to know.

"We need to get to Halifax," Hermione said. "So from here Dumbledore or whomsoever else involved, wants us to travel from London. Wow! From Kings Cross station in fact! Once at Halifax it then seems to be very vague and looks more like compass directions after that."

"Can we Disapparate to London?" asked Ginny.

"I think we can, because we'll still be a long way from our destination."

"I think we should Apparate just outside The Leaky Cauldron," Ginny suggested."I don't think our sudden appearance on a muggle platform would be advsiable. And also magical activity around the Cauldron won't be noticed."

"Good idea," Hermione nodded. "I think in this particular time, people appearing out of nowhere would be even more troubling than normal. I think where Godric's Hollow is we are actually nearer to Bristol or a Midlands city, but we basically know Kings Cross and I think it's a direct route. A different station might mean we had to change trains a lot."

"It looks like our passes give us free travel or something. 'On War Service' it says here," Ginny read from her travel papers.

"Yes, it seems so," answered Hermione, studying her own pass. "I think it then gives us a good reason not to have to answer any questions about what we're doing or exactly where we're going. It's like secret military business. It should help a lot being able to use those papers."

"It's going to feel funny going to Kings Cross but not walking through the barrier to the Hogwarts Express," Ginny said.

"It _will_ be very odd. It makes me sad that we _won't_ be going to Hogwarts," Hermione said, wistfully.

"We don't know how long we'll be gone do we? Not even a rough estimate?"

"No," the brunette answered. "I don't think we have any way of knowing that."

"In that case, I think we should pack plenty of edibles in that bag of yours," Ginny said adamantly.

Hermione laughed, but agreed. "Yes, it would be nice to have something in reserve. I know we can buy things, if there's anything available and there's sure to be pubs, but we might end up somewhere with no facilities at all."

"What packs up well, except sandwiches?" Ginny asked

"I'm not sure," said Hermione thinking. "I suppose things like cornish pasties, or little pastry pies, which can be eaten hot or cold. Maybe some apples."

"HEY!" Ginny almost shouted.

"What?" Hermione asked, very alarmed.

"Why don't we ask the Hogwarts elves to prepare some things for us?"

"Dumbledore didn't seem to want any contact with us until we had the Ring or it was urgent," said Hermione.

"I know," Ginny went on. "But we could pass a message on through Mrs. Haughty-Face upstairs and when the elves come tomorrow or whatever day we wish, they could bring the extras with them, couldn't they? No one needs to know _why_ we need them, and anyone other than us and Dumbledore won't have any idea about it."

"Hmm. That's actually a brilliant idea," said Hermione smiling. "So when should we leave? I mean, I'm ready to get straight into it, but we need to both be ready."

"We can't keep pushing it back," said a stoic-sounding Ginny. "The sooner we start on this quest, or whatever the hell it is, the sooner we get it done, or find out..." she tailed off. "One way or another, we'll know. I don't see any reason to wait."

"How about tomorrow then? Usually everything would be shut on a Sunday, but in wartime, I don't think that counted, and certainly not in London."

"If we can get our request in with the elves," Ginny said. "If not we'll just have to pack some other things up."

"Don't worry," Hermione laughed. "We'll make sure our food arrangements are our top priority. I don't want your stomach rumbling loudly when we're trying to be stealthy!"

Ginny gave her a glare, which soon turned into a grin. "Right, let's go and talk to Madam Puffed-Up upstairs shall we?"

Hermione smiled and nodded, but she wasn't looking forward to having to talk to Mrs. Dumbledore again, and certainly not to ask for her help once more.

**A/N: I'll explain my location choice of Halifax, as the town nearest to Little Hangleton, in a future chapter.**


	12. Shillings and Sixpences

**A/N: As a little treat I've got two chapters ready to post, #12 & #13. It also completes the mini-arc of 'preparations'...through which I had a lot of historical(and at times hysterical!) fun.**

12: Shillings and Sixpences

The two girls walked into the third bedroom and were unsurprised to find Kendra Dumbledore's portrait empty.

"Mrs. Dumbledore?" called Hermione. "Can we talk to you, please?"

There was silence for a few moments and Ginny was on the verge of saying something, but caught herself, not wanting a repeat of the first time and insult the woman to her face and block any chance they might have of ordering the food they wanted.

"Mrs. Dumbledore! We need your help again. Please?" Hermione said, sounding almost subservient.

After another couple of moments Hermione started to call a little louder, "MRS. DUMBLED..."

"No need to shout! What is it?" said the unmistakable voice of Kendra Dumbledore, followed by a little rustling as she walked into her portrait and sat down, looking at them disdainfully.

"We wondered if you could pass a message on to Professor Dumbledore to ask the elves for something?" Hermione asked.

"Do I look like a member of the Owl Post to you?" Kendra asked, as obstinate and condescending as ever.

"We're sorry to ask, but we have a request," continued Hermione. "We wondered if the elves could bring us a small quantity of little pies tomorrow morning. Sweet and savoury, and maybe some apples, things that can be packed up?"

"Are you planning a party?" asked Mrs. Dumbledore. "Not in my son's house, you won't!"

"A party?" Ginny exclaimed, incredulous. "Who would we invite? Humphrey and the gnomes?"

Kendra narrowed her eyes and pursed her lips, looking as though a scolding reply was about to follow, but Hermione prevented that.

"If you would just ask Professor Dumbledore if he would pass that message on to the elves, I'm sure he'll understand." Hermione said, hoping that would be enough to get the woman to deliver their messsage. "And would you be able to come back and tell us that Professor Dumbledore has been told our message, please?

Kendra Dumbledore looked down her nose at the two young women before her, almost inspecting both of them, trying to detect any lies or find a reason not to do as they asked. Albus had asked her to relay to him any message she was given by Hermione or Ginny, but she had never been sure of her son's judgment when it came to friends or colleagues.

"Fine," the proud woman said; unable to find a reason to deny the request, she rose from her chair and walked out of her portrait again.

"That was like trying to get blood from a stone!" Ginny whispered.

"Well, at least she's going to pass the message on," said Hermione, sighing, almost feeling like she had just sat an extra long exam on arithmancy.

Hermione and Ginny sat down on the chairs in the room, waiting. They were expecting the portrait woman to take extra time on purpose, but surprisingly she was back in around half an hour.

"I have given my son your message," said Kendra, still not at all happy with her job as messenger.

"Thank you," answered Hermione. "Did he say anything about it?"

"Not particularly," said the portrait, very annoyed. "If you must know, he found it amusing and kept nodding his head. I warn you, I will not play games and I refuse to be used as a figure for your entertainment!"

"We wouldn't dream of using you that way," said Hermione. "Thank you once again for your help, though."

"Is that it then?" Kendra asked. She saw that both girls had nothing more to say or ask, and walked out of her painting again.

"I swear, I will never complain about Mum being bossy ever again!" said Ginny, almost whispering still. "Mrs. Dumbledore makes even Auntie Muriel appear approachable."

"I suppose it must get very boring, being a portrait," said Hermione, thinking. "Always having people staring at you, or ignoring you completely. Being stuck to certain places."

"I understand that, I do," replied Ginny. "But why do nearly all of them act like they're better than everyone else and talk down to us?"

"It might have something to do with the fact they were important enough in life to have a portrait made of themselves, to inhabit later. I would say that would make most people feel a bit more elevated. That's my theory anyway"

"Hmm. I just hope we don't have to converse with _her_ many more times," said Ginny.

"I think Dumbledore's response probably means he understands why we want the specific food," said Hermione. "I think that part is sorted out."

"Do you think we should go through some things, not a list necessarily, but think of things we might need for our trip?"

Hermione nodded her head. "We might as well get on with that now."

They went back downstairs to the sitting room, with Hermione's beaded bag. While Hermione turfed out most of the contents of the bag to look through, Ginny made them both a cup of tea. Both had discovered that planning often went better with a cup of tea close at hand.

A while later, with items in little piles around Hermione as she made to repack her beaded bag, they went through the main items.

"I think that tent is a good idea," said Ginny. "At least we'd have something to sleep in if we're stuck out in the middle of nowhere."

"Yes, the tent is a must," said Hermione, as the shrunken bagged package which was the folded-up tent was put into her bag. "We lost the first one, but thankfully Bill gave us another."

They packed all the clothes back in after a few _tergeo_ spells; the clothing included one or two sweaters of Ron's, a pair of jeans which Hermione could resize for Ginny, and one or two T'Shirts and shirts.

The decision had been made that they would wear the more practical WAAF uniform with trousers, which was described as 'work uniform' on their information sheet, so Ginny went and got the two smarter service dress uniforms. There might be a time in the near future where they would need the other uniform and it was best to pack it with everything else.

All of the books went back into the bag. There was no telling what they might need to know magically. Another reason they couldn't leave any books behind was due to the fact a lot had content based on events further into the future than 1943. And they could hardly leave the Rita Skeeter biography of Dumbledore behind in his own house either.

In fact, Hermione packed everything back into her bag and only left out an odd, and slightly worn sock of Ron's; but she decided to pack that too, not wanting to leave a part of Ron behind, however silly that might have sounded had she voiced that line of thinking. At least she had been able to take stock of what she had in the bag and had refreshed her mind of the contents.

The final few items left to put back into the beaded bag, included the bottle of dittany and the Time-Turner.

Ginny picked up the dittany and saw there was only around a third of the contents left. "It might have been wise to ask for more of this," said the redhead, examing the level of the dittany in the bottle.

"I didn't think about it," Hermione answered. "There's still quite a bit left though. Not much is needed at a time." Hermione picked up the Time-Turner and stared at it. "I never thought I'd be using this again. And certainly not in this way."

"There's a lot of things I never thought I'd be doing, or using, or saying, or _wearing_," said Ginny.

It had taken most of the afternoon, going through Hermione's bag and repacking it. The next thing they did was look at their money situation.

They went into the study, taking the small purse Dumbledore had left them, and laid out the coins onto the desk. Hermione then tipped out some muggle and magical coins from her own wallet.

"Hmm," said Hermione as she looked at the various types. "Well, it looks like knuts, pennies and two pence pieces will be easiest to change into the one pennies, two pennies, halfpennies, farthings and threepences. They're all coppery in colour."

Ginny pushed a ten pence piece and a sickle, both silvery, next to a couple of the 1943 muggle coins. "These looks close to those."

Hermione picked up the silver coins. "A shilling, a sixpence, a florin and half a crown. I seem to remember when I was young, that the old shilling coins were used as five pence pieces and florins as ten pence pieces. My Grandma would always call them by the old names."

There was a little piece of paper that was in the purse, and it gave basic direction on the coins.

"This is complicated, compared to the muggle money I was used to, however much my grandparents spoke of it," said Hermione.

"To me, it's just plain complicated," said Ginny, smiling.

"Let's see. Four farthings in a penny. Two halfpennies in a penny...obviously," Hermione rolled her eyes at just how obvious that was. "Sixpence is half a shilling so it's twelve pence in a shilling."

"It's like another language!" Ginny said, struggling to get some sense of the values of the coins.

"Two shillings and sixpence are half a crown. Five shillings is a crown," Hermione went on. "And twenty shillings make a pound. Therefore two-hundred-and-forty pennies are in a pound."

"Don't ask me?" Ginny half laughed. "I'm just hoping we don't have to deal with money much at all."

Hermione laughed. "For a moment I thought you were going to say, 'Don't ask me, I'm just a door knocker!'" That got them both giggling, before they settled down again to the task at hand as Hermione transfigured the coinage, taking less time with each one she completed. Ginny transfigured a couple too and seemed to get the hang of it straight away.

"Why on earth did people think working in sixes and twelves would make sense?" said Hermione. "Working in tens is so much more logical!"

"Well, going by that bloody awful uniform we've got to wear, I wouldn't say anyone is thinking logically in this period of time!" said Ginny.

"This format of money goes back a lot further than the 1940s," said Hermione. "It's still crazy though." She sighed. "I think it might be best to have lots of shillings and sixpences, which are easier to hand over and get change for, that way we won't look too awkward...we hope."

"What about the notes?" asked Ginny.

"Dumbledore said very few people had one pound or five-pound notes on them, so we'll keep the one quid and one fiver he gave us safe, but perhaps we should make a couple of these ten shilling notes...known as 'ten-bob-notes'."

Hermione flipped open her own wallet and laid a couple of modern five pound notes and a ten pound note on the desk. She almost winced as she changed them.

"Why the grimace?" the redhead asked, noticing Hermione wearing an expression of distaste.

"Nothing really," Hermione replied. "It's just, a ten-bob-note is only worth about fifty pence in our own time, and I'm going to be changing a ten _pound_ note into fifty pence. Don't worry, it's just me being silly. I mean it's not like I can spend money from the 1990s here, is it? I _could_ use just paper, and we might have to eventually, but it's always better to change like things into like things."

Having changed a good amount of money, Hermione put half into the purse the originals were in and gave it to Ginny, and half into her own wallet.

"I truly hope it won't happen," said the brunette. "But if we get split up, or something unexpected happens, then we'll both have some money. I've left the paper with the coins information in your purse."

Ginny looked worried after she heard that. She had never considered that they might be split up or not be together. She felt a stab of fear threaten to tremble through her spine. Hermione saw the change on her friend's face.

"Of course, the sensible reason is that we might lose one of the purses or not be able to get to one of them fast enough," Hermione smiled, trying to reassure Ginny. "It would be stupid to keep everything in one place."

There was a little silence between them as Hermione put her wallet into her bag. Looking at her watch she was surprised to see it was 6pm now. They had spent hours with these preparations.

"Let's think about some dinner," Hermione said cheerfully. "Perhaps something light. I think I fancy some cold chicken sandwiches. That chicken from earlier smelled delicious."

The discussion of food would normally have brought a reaction to Ginny, just as it would have done to any Weasley with a heartbeat. Ginny however, just sat at the desk looking blankly at a bookcase lining one of the walls.

Hermione was about to ask if she was all right, and as she was about to speak, Ginny spoke.

"What happens if we _do_ get split up? There's only one Time-Turner. How do we find each other? How?"

"We'll do everything we can to not let that happen," Hermione said, keeping her voice calm and even.

"But you said yourself, unexpected things might happen. What if I'm alone? What do I do? What if I'm left here?" Ginny said, he voice almost croaky and tears gathering in her eyes.

Hermione rose from her chair and went to Ginny, putting a hand on the redhead's shoulder. "Hey, I won't leave you here! I promise you that. If the worst did happen and we were split up, then I would do everything in my power to find you. You don't think I'd go back without you?"

Ginny turned her head and looked up to her friend. "You said you would do anything to succeed here, to help back at Hogwarts. That might include leaving me if it risked not succeeding."

Hermione sat on the edge of the desk and took one of Ginny's hands, looking straight into her face. "I would never leave you here. As long as I have breath in my body I would find you. I promise," Hermione said solemnly. "Besides, what use is it to go back to help people at Hogwarts if it meant leaving one more of us behind? We succeed together, or we fail _together_, okay?"

A tear rolled down Ginny's cheek, which Hermione leant forward and wiped away with her thumb.

"I thought I would be able to handle whatever plan McGonagall set me upon. But knowing what we do now, there is no way I could do this alone," said Hermione. "You're not here just for company and for the ride, Ginny. You're here because you're a bloody good witch with the heart of a lion, which I've always known, and we'll work on this whole thing as a team. McGonagall and Dumbledore obviously assumed I'd bring Ron or Bill, maybe George or Fred, but I think I chose the correct Weasley, in fact I _know_ I have; even if McGonagall didn't like the idea. I don't normally give any time to the idea of fate, but I might be swayed in this case."

Ginny smiled back at her, but then her face dropped again. "But Hermione, what if.."

"There are no 'what ifs'...we..." This time Hermione was cut off.

"Let me finish," Ginny said firmly. "What if something happens to you? I don't want to think of it, but we need to be practical. What happens?"

Hermione briefly closed her eyes and sighed, as she herself had tried to avoid thoughts of anything that might happen to her. "If I'm injured, try to get me back here," she said measuredly, trying to hide her own feelings of fear. "I know you haven't passed your Apparation Test yet, but you're perfectly capable of it. Get in contact with Dumbledore. If I...if I die, try to get me back here still, but if that's not possible please get yourself back here and contact Dumbledore. If that's not possible, you know how to work the Time-Turner, so at least get yourself back to Hogwarts."

There was complete silence except for the echoing tick of the clock from the sitting room, a couple of walls away.

Ginny nodded at Hermione and squeezed her hand. "I promise I won't leave you here either. Whatever happens I promise to find you and take you back." Hermione gave a small smile, feeling a warmth spread through her which made her feel more assured.

They both rose and made their way to the kitchen, and set about slicing some of the roasted chicken breast to make sandwiches. Hermione sliced the chicken and Ginny sliced and buttered the bread. The two women sat at the kitchen table to eat, enjoying the cosy feeling of the range.

"I just had a thought," said Ginny. "We don't know the time of the trains?"

"No, we don't," said Hermione. "I think with our papers we can turn up and get on whatever train is available. I don't know how regular the services were on 1940s railways, though. If we arrive at Kings Cross tomorrow and we have to wait a day, we can always spend a night at a bed and breakfast."

"Why not The Leaky Cauldron?" Ginny asked.

"I feel all right for us to Apparate outside it, but I'm not sure two witches in WAAF uniforms would go unnoticed to the magical clientele of the Leaky Cauldron," said a thoughtful Hermione. "I think once we reach London, we have to keep to the appearance of muggles in most aspects."

"You're good at this hiding out, spying thing, aren't you?" smirked Ginny.

"I don't know about 'good at it'," Hermione replied. "The last few months, made it necessary to think of things like that. One wrong move and it could have been fatal...and in fact our wrong move when we let our guard down just a little and Harry forgot himself, nearly _did_ prove fatal for us all."

Ginny made them a cup of tea, which they took through to the sitting room, and sat comfortably in the old armchairs.

"When should we leave tomorrow?" Hermione asked.

"Well, you know you don't have to worry about me getting up, I'm not as lazy as my brothers," grinned Ginny.

"Right. We ought to give the elves a chance to deliver anything if that's what they're going to do, but maybe leave by 9am?"

"Sounds fine to me," replied the redhead. "I think I'll pack plenty of tea," she continued. "Getting hotwater shouldn't be a problem wherever we are."

"If we _were_ in the military," Hermione said, smiling. "You would be in the Catering Corps. You'd guard the food with your life."

"No one survives on air alone!" said an amused Ginny.

Hermione finished the rest of her cup of tea and yawned. "Oh dear me," she said, stretching. "It's not even eight o'clock yet! I think I might take a bath, before I turn in. I don't know when we'll get the chance again."

"I think I'll join you," said Ginny.

The brunette snorted with laughter, then Ginny realized what she had said.

"Oh, you know what I mean!" said the redhead, faintly blushing. "I don't mean to join you in the actual bath. I know there's a war on, but I draw the line on _us_ bath-sharing! I just meant, it was a good idea."

"What? Sharing my bath with me, or having a bath?" said a very tickled Hermione.

"You know very well what I meant, Hermione 'I-want-to-share-a-bath-with-Ron' Granger!"

They both starting laughing at that.


	13. Ready

13: Ready

Hermione let Ginny take her bath first, while she did a final check on their clothes for the next day. She was adjusting the shoulder strap on a gas mask bag when Ginny walked out of the bathroom, stopping as she passed the doorway.

"Everything all right with our _wonderful_ clothes?" asked Ginny.

"Yes," Hermione answered as she closed the wardrobe doors again and walked towards the doorway.

"I've been thinking," Ginny said. "Harry's shirt is nearly the same colour as the uniform ones. Can I still wear it, do you think?"

"I don't see why not. It will be under the jacket too." Hermione said.

"Well, the bathroom is all yours."

The brunette got her T'Shirt and pyjama bottoms from the bedroom and went to have her bath. It definitely helped her aching muscles and the tension in her shoulders and neck, that she hadn't realized had been there. It seemed strange to wonder when her next bath would be, but that was a real fact, and they had no way of knowing.

When Hermione got back to the bedroom, Ginny was sitting up in bed reading. "What are you reading?"

"The Tales of Beedle the Bard," Ginny said with a smile. "I'm just refreshing my memory on The Three Brothers."

Hermione brushed her hair, working out a particularly annoying knot, before sliding into the bed next to her friend.

"I'm still having trouble believing that the Wand, Cloak and Stone are real!" the redhead said.

"Yeah, it's hard to take in at first, isn't it?"

"Harry had the Cloak and you and Dumbledore think he had the Stone too. So do we know where the Wand is?"

"You Know Who has it," said Hermione glumly. "When we left Hogwarts, he was in possession of it."

"He what?" said Ginny, in an almost squeaky voice. "You Know Who has the most powerful wand ever made?"

"Hmm-mm," sighed Hermione. "Dumbledore had it for years, and You Know Who found out about the Wand somehow and went looking for it. That's why he had Mr. Ollivander as a captive. He killed Gregorovitch the European wandmaker and finally discovered that Dumbledore had it. I think part of the reason he killed Snape was because he thought Snape was the new owner and that was why it didn't work for him that well. That's what we overheard anyway."

"Dumbledore had the Wand? Well that explains a lot," said Ginny. "No wonder he never said anything about it much."

"Yeah. You find the previous owners in history generally bragged about the ownership of the Elder Wand and they usually had challengers facing them, and were killed because of the greed of others wanting to own it for themselves. Anyway, according to Harry, You Know Who broke into Dumbledore's tomb and took it."

Ginny held a hand to her mouth in shock and disgust. "We were in deep trouble, weren't we? Back at Hogwarts?"

"Yes, and I truly think this path we've taken is something of a last hope, we've basically been told that in one way or another. Although, I can't see how getting the Stone before it's changed into a horcrux is going to make a difference?"

"The Stone can bring back the dead," Ginny said in a quiet voice. "So the legend says. You don't think..."

"No," Hermione answered. "It can't bring people back, not truly. Even the story of the brother with the Stone makes that clear." The brunette exhaled a breath, wearily. "Maybe not using it as a horcrux means You Know Who's soul is weaker, or I don't know, something?"

"I suppose we'll only find out what its use is once we have it and get this so-called 'plan' to work," said Ginny, her brow furrowed with thought. "I presume they _will_ tell us what it's all about?"

"I don't know, but I hope we find out."

"I should blooming hope so after everything we're going to be trying to do!"

The two women dimmed the lights, like they had done the night before and settled down to try and get some sleep, knowing they would have an early start the next day. Hermione had been so used to early starts in recent months, that she didn't bother trying to set a wake-up alarm. They both eventually drifted off to sleep, after a little jiffling and puffing up of pillows.

Ginny dreamed she was at Hogwarts again, and almost groaned to herself, because she had had enough of seeing horrors there from the previous night's sleep..._zzzzzzz_

Voldemort was lining up her family again, and as she tried to go towards them, bony long-nailed fingers held her back, accompanied by a cackle of maddened delight. Bellatrix held her in this dream, as before.

Lord Voldemort was about to raise his wand and kill her father, she knew, but Ginny was able to rip free her right arm from Bellatrix this time and found she had an unfamiliar wand in her hand. It was knobbly and longer than her own and it tingled in her hand. She looked to Voldemort and he held _her_ wand. He seemed to notice that they had switched wands somehow and his eyes flashed dangerously at her as he raised her wand to strike at her. She lifted the wand, what she seemed to know was _the_ wand, and green light shot out of it and Voldemort slid to the floor, the light from his evil eyes gone out. And then Bellatrix wasn't there, and the hands holding her were different. Ginny turned and came face to face with Harry, she made an audible gasp, choked with surprise and emotion. "Harry?"..._zzzzzzz_

Ginny woke with a start, although now awake, she still felt her throat tightening from emotion and her cheeks were wet with tears. She carefully turned over, hoping she hadn't woken Hermione.

Her friend was asleep, but her face was in a screwed up frown and she was breathing raggedly, expelling breaths in almost whimpers, and her hands were in tight fists gripping the quilt. It didn't seem the brunette was having any better luck with her own dreams.

Hermione was dreaming of walking through a forest..._zzzzzzz_

It wasn't any forest she recognized, but the path she was taking through the trees was like a tunnel. After walking for a long time, or what felt like a long time in the dreamscape, she came to a small cottage. It looked derelict, with ivy and plants growing through the brickwork and timbers, and had a general feeling of emptiness.

She walked through the front door without knocking, and the first room she came to was empty, except for a what looked like a dead rat in the corner and an old leather boot. But she wasn't alone...

Hermione turned around and came face to face with Moaning Myrtle, and this time she wasn't a ghost, but looked very corporeal indeed.

"It's your fault!" Myrtle said, in her usual, almost shrieking voice. "You think you're so clever, but we know the truth! You're the one we have to blame!"

"W...we?" Hermione asked, seeing something move on the edge of her vision.

She turned and saw Cedric Diggory, his arms folded, glaring at her. "What use are you to me? I can't bear to even look at you!" he spat and walked off.

Hermione turned back to talk to Myrtle again, but she was gone. _This is very odd,_ she thought as she dreamed, _to say the least!_

Completely confused she walked through the doorway that Cedric had gone through and found a kitchen, not unlike the one at Grimmauld Place. It was very strange, because the cottage from the outside, in no way could hold a kitchen this size. Walking further into the room she was faced by Sirius, Lupin and Tonks as they sat at the table.

The breath caught in Hermione's throat and physically hurt as though something was lodged in her trachea and was choking her. The three Order members raised their heads to face her.

"Ah, the brightest witch of her age comes to visit, does she?" said Sirius. Tonks looked at Lupin and he at her, before both turned their angry eyes on her.

_Angry?_ Hermione thought, _why are they angry with me? _

"You never even knew we were here, did you?" Sirius said. "Never entered your head! Forgot that we ever existed!"

"No...no I didn't," Hermione tried to explain. "I always think of you, I was devastated with what happened...to all of you."

"You hear that, Remus?" Sirius said with a false laugh. "She thinks of us! Does she think of your son, does she know it's her fault?"

"How is it my fault?" Hermione asked, anxiously. "_What_ is my fault?"

"That we stay here, because of you," Lupin said. "You could free us with a click of your fingers, but we've heard you, we don't matter enough."

"I've never said anything of the sort!"

"But you won't free us, will you?" Tonks asked.

"How? I can't free you. You're not trapped anywhere...you're de..."

"Dead?"

The voice came from behind her and she spun to face Harry.

"Harry?"

"You can do it Hermione. Just one little action and we'd all be free," said Harry.

"You mean to alter the future? I can't, it's wrong...I can't do it." Hermione spluttered out, tears threatening to fall.

"It's _wrong_?" asked Sirius, with another hollow laugh. "Voldemort lives, yet we're all dead and Remus and Dora's son is an orphan and it's _wrong_ to change that?"

"I can't...," Hermione said, overwhelmed with the whole situation. Harry glared at her with anger and deep hurt in his eyes. "I'm sorry...I'm sorry...," she said..._zzzzzzz_

Hermione awoke with a rasping sob, and started coughing, feeling the lump in her throat still there.

Ginny had been watching her friend and had been startled when Hermione woke up and had never seen her in such a state.

"Hey there," Ginny said softly. "Are you okay?" she asked, reaching a hand out to her friend's arm.

Hermione turned to look at her, breathing hard still. "I...I had a very odd dream," she said.

"I gathered it wasn't pleasant," said the redhead.

"Sorry, did I wake you up?"

"No, I had a horrible dream myself and was awake already," Ginny admitted, then tilted her head to one side. "It wasn't that horrible I suppose, compared to last night, but it completely floored me. I came face to face with Harry."

"Me too," said Hermione, as they both laid down again, but turned slightly towards each other as they talked.

"You saw Harry too?"

"Yes, except he wasn't the only one." Hermione took a deep breath. "I saw several people we know to be dead, and all of them were accusing me of things and were so angry with me. I saw Moaning Myrtle...which is bizarre, because she isn't actually dead here yet...my stupid mind."

"That sounds awful," Ginny said.

"I think I know what it was about," Hermione said. "It was to do with altering the future. My mind was playing tricks on me, and showing me everything I wish I _could_ change. "

"Are you tempted?"

"Of course I am!" Hermione said without hesitation. "I've been tempted since the first time I ever used the Time-Turner back in my Third Year. But I know what is right and what we can't do. We'll always have to live with it, but the other option is far too dangerous." Another tear silently fell down Hermione's cheek, which she wiped away, even more annoyed with herself to find that her hands were shaking.

Ginny noticed, and still feeling unsettled by her own dream she put an arm around Hermione. "I think we both need a hug."

Hermione gave a little chuckle but put an arm around Ginny and the two women snuggled up together, already finding comfort in the other being there.

As the previous night, they drifted off, hugged up against each other, finally finding more restful and calming sleep. Neither were disturbed by further unsettling dreams.

XXXXXXXXXX

Ginny was the first to wake up the next morning, looking at the small clock on the dressing table it was just after 7.00am. She turned to see Hermione, still asleep, but curled up against her. It made her smile and think of a hibernating dormouse.

The redhead moved herself gently, and drew her wand from under the pillow to make the lights in the room slightly brighter: the sky outside wouldn't be light enough to see by just yet. She slowly and carefully rose from the bed and went to the bathroom. Ginny knew what the day meant and what they would be doing, but there was no point procrastinating under the bedcovers and hoping it would pass them by.

Hermione stirred several minutes later; she had been in a deep sleep and it took her a few moments to remember where she was again. She noticed that Ginny was already gone, and as she stretched the sleep from her body and sat up in bed, her friend walked in carrying two cups of tea.

"Morning sleepyhead," said Ginny, with a smile, setting down the cup of tea on the little bedside cabinet on Hermione's side of the bed.

"Ah, yes," Hermione answered. "I think I slept a bit heavier than usual."

"No matter," said Ginny, sitting next to her. "At least we both got some rest last night, finally."

"So you didn't have any more dreams?"

"Not bad ones, and nothing I can recall," replied Ginny. "Although, I do seem to remember something about a bowl of strawberries."

"Good grief! You even dream about food!" Hermione laughed.

There was a moment of silence, broken only by the small slurping sound as Ginny tried to take a sip from a still too hot cup of tea.

"Are you nervous?" Hermione asked.

"I'm not sure," said the redhead. "I'm not sure what I feel, but my mind and body seem to know something is about to happen. How about you?"

"I think I'm the same. Part of me wants to get on with it, but I'm sure when the time comes for us to leave here, I'll be wanting to stay a bit longer."

"I'll probably feel that way too. This place has been something of a haven for us, the short time we've been here." said Ginny.

They finished their cups of tea and began the process of starting the day; taking turns in the bathroom and then going to the other bedroom to put on their WAAF working uniforms.

The trousers weren't as itchy as they looked, and the shirt of Harry's that Ginny wanted to wear didn't look out of place. They were able to keep their socks on, thanks to the trousers saving them from the tortuous stockings.

Taking the gas mask bags and the jackets with them, they went downstairs. It was a little after 8am by now, and they decided to have some breakfast. Hermione didn't think she could stomach much, so opted for toast and Ginny chose the same.

Walking into the pantry Ginny let out a small sound. "They're here!"

Hermione joined her in double quick time, hoping she might get an actual glimpse of the Hogwarts' elves. Alas they had been and gone, but they had indeed left several little pies and quiches, packed in a picnic box. A small bag of apples and pears and two flasks of tea were also included. A little note was in the box in Dumbledore's handwriting, and simply said.

_With compliments from the Hogwarts kitchens._

"It's amazing isn't it?" Hermione said, looking over the contents of the box.

"There's some wonderful choices here," said Ginny. "Sweet ones and savoury, just as we asked."

"It will be no problem in my bag too. And we can reuse the flasks at any time." Hermione smiled as she placed the box into her bag and examined the flasks. "I think the flasks have a permanent enchantment to be hot the whole time. Not a spell...just the way they're made. Even better news."

Oddly, the sight of the elves' handywork on the food, made them lose some of their slightly fidgety apprehension about the day.

Hermione and Ginny ate their toast, had another cup of tea, did a last check of the bedroom they slept in, the wardrobe their uniforms had been in, the study, the sitting room, making sure they had left nothing behind and then did one last check of their money. After that, they put on their uniform jackets.

"Are we ready then?" Hermione asked.

"It seems so," Ginny replied.

Putting the beaded bag into her pocket, Hermione then slung the gas mask bag over a shoulder, which Ginny copied, and both put on their hats. They did a final check of papers and identity cards and then put them into a pocket of their jackets for easy access.

Both young women took deep breaths, steeling themselves as Hermione nodded to her friend and led the way through the scullery to make their way to the back garden, from which they would Disapparate to London. Hermione would be Side-Along Apparating Ginny, although the latter was capable, but as yet uncertified, the nervousness of the day made it sensible for Hermione to do the honours, and despite the probable temporary travel-nausea Ginny would get, it was safer than risking a splinching.

Holding hands in the garden, Hermione said. "Now, is there anything we've forgotten? Can you think of anything?"

"I think we've got everything. Although we didn't say goodbye to Humphrey or Mrs. Haughty-Arse upstairs," said a grinning Ginny.

Hermione smiled. "Okay, let's go."

Clasping hands they Disapparated, and left Dumbledore's garden and Godric's Hollow behind.


	14. King's Cross

**A/N: The journey, in both the small and bigger sense, is beginning...**

**So why have I chosen Halifax in West Yorkshire as the general area for getting to Little Hangleton? **

**The exact location of the village is not really known. Several discussions on forums over the years have placed it anywhere from north Wales to Lincolnshire, in a wide strip north of the Midlands. I know nothing much at all about Halifax, but at the time I was writing down basic notes for this story I had just watched again on DVD the BBC's film of "The Secret Diaries of Miss Anne Lister" and although it may not have been filmed in that area, both the real book and the film...and the documentary on the area Anne lived in, near to Halifax, just reminded me of how I imagined Little Hangleton. The terrain seemed right to me.**

**I do not know for sure the trains and services to Halifax in WW2 Britain...but in some bored online moments I discovered that present day trains do go from King's Cross station in London to Halifax...so that sealed it for me. :)**

**As a side note, anyone with an interest in social history of women, and in particular lesbianism in history, I highly recommend "The Secret Diaries of Miss Anne Lister", both the real book(a limited number of years of her diaries have been published) and the DVD. The diaries were written in code during Anne's lifetime in the late 1790s and early 1800s, it's a fascinating look at life in general at that time too. Amusingly nearly everything she dislikes she calls 'vulgar'. :)**

**Okay...the info out of the way, let's rejoin our girls...**

14: King's Cross

A short sensation of squeezing, pushing, pulling and tugging, all felt much worse by Ginny, and the two young women Apparated to The Leaky Cauldron, arriving almost on the doorstep of the pub.

"Watchit!" said a wizard in a top hat, who had opened the pub's door to leave just as Hermione and Ginny appeared there. The man gave a few 'tut tuts' and he was mumbling something about women always being in pairs gossiping, as he walked away down the street.

"Well _excuse_ me!" Ginny said, not at all impressed. The redhead shook her head a little to get rid of the dizzy sensations she had from her Side-Along Apparating trip. She was used to it, having been Apparated by her parents and brothers at various times during her life, but that didn't make it any more pleasant.

Hermione got hold of her arm and moved them away from the Cauldron's door, to avoid being stepped on or sworn at by other patrons.

Looking around, they could see the street becoming mildly busy; people on their way to whatever London people did on a Sunday in World War Two. A few vehicles, taxis and buses went past, but nowhere near the amount of traffic they were used to in their own time, and the vehicles looked vastly different too.

"What should we do next?" Ginny asked in a low voice, as Hermione looked in her gas mask bag, putting on a show of looking for something so as to appear just a normal muggle, rather than two people looking awkwardly out of place.

"We need to get to King's Cross station from here, but first I thought me might just walk a bit further up the street."

For some reason, both of them took a deep breath, knowing that their first step was truly the beginning of the next stage of this so-called 'plan'.

Walking around the bend in the street, both were left speechless by what they saw. Hidden from view at The Leaky Cauldron, but visible now they were on the muggle street, they saw three buildings reduced to rubble. One building was still smouldering, releasing whisps of black smoke into the air.

The air smelled of the cordite from the bombing, mixed with burned brick, wood and other unknown items. A truck was parked next to the bombsite and a couple of women and an older man were sorting through the rubble and chucking some of it into the truck's open trailer. A couple of members of the fire brigade were checking for further risk of fire and were talking to an ARP warden.

"My god!" Ginny said as she took in the damage.

"Hmm," Hermione uttered, transfixed by the scene too. "It's pretty shocking."

"Do you think people were in there?" asked Ginny, nodding towards the heaps of rubble.

"I don't know. I hope not. I hope they went to a shelter when the sirens went off and are safe," replied Hermione, unable to take her eyes from the bomb damage. They walked slower, but carried on along the street.

"It's like Hogwarts, all over again," Ginny said suddenly. "Ruins, stones, rubble, destruction."

The rest of the buildings on the street were standing, but some had broken windows and cracks in brickwork.

"How strange," Hermione said after they had walked for another few minutes.

"What?"

"We're not far from where Ron, Harry and I Apparated to after the chaos of Bill and Fleur's wedding. I even recognize some of the buildings...just."

"You went here?" Ginny asked. "Of course, I know you mean in _our_ time, but I always wondered where you went that day?"

"For some reason Tottenham Court Road was the first place I thought of, and there wasn't time to consider other options." Hermione answered. "And I think we're almost on that Road now."

The people they met on the street were diverse, from older men wearing smart three-piece suits with black bowler hats, to women in all kinds of uniform and men in even more different uniforms.

Two soldiers were coming towards them, dressed in khaki. One had his hands in his pockets, and looked like he was whistling, the other man was smoking. They both looked up to see who was approaching them and the one with his hands in his pockets seemed to stand a bit straighter and almost bounce on his toes as he walked.

Hermione was dreading any interaction, but she just had a feeling it would be unavoidable. "Be prepared," she said for Ginny's ears only.

Ginny had noticed the two army lads herself, and knew exactly what Hermione meant.

Maybe they would just smile and carry on, but Hermione highly doubted that. _Some men just have to open their mouths and make a show of themselves,_ she thought.

"Morning ladies," said one of the soldiers, the one with his hands in his pockets.

Hermione nodded her head to him and made for her and Ginny to carrying on walking.

"Wait up," said the man, as he and his friend blocked the path. "Why don't we walk you to wherever you're going? We've got a day's leave."

"No thank you," Hermione said.

"What harm is there in that? We only want to walk and talk with you?"

Not being able to think of anything to say to that, Hermione was pleased when Ginny came to the rescue.

"Sorry boys, you can't follow where we're going," said the redhead firmly.

"Why? Are you going to the Ladies?" laughed the man, with a cigarrette bobbing up and down at the corner of his mouth as he spoke. Hermione thought of him as 'Smokie' in her mind.

"It's none of your business where we're going," Hermione said, still trying to find a way to walk around these annoying men.

"Oo-oo, listen to her?" said the man Hermione thought of as 'Pockets'. "I like that in a girl, I bet you're a real goer?" he said winking at her.

Hermione's cheeks flushed, not from being flattered or embarrassed but from sheer anger; yet again Ginny came to the rescue.

"Have you ever heard of doing things for the military and not being allowed to talk about it?" Ginny said evenly. When the men nodded, but were still wearing ridiculous expressions, she added, "Well that's why you can't go where we're going. We're on WAAF business, now please get out of the way and let us pass."

The boyish grins disappeared on both men. "Only trying to be friendly, girls," said Pockets, as he stood to the side and gestured with his arm that they could pass.

As Hermione walked passed Pockets, he reached out and grabbed her bottom with both hands. She jumped, and then spun around to face the man, who was nearly doubled up laughing. Before he had time to move and before Ginny could stop her, Hermione lashed out and slapped the man hard across the face, making him stagger back. Ginny was astounded and dreading the reaction that might come, thankfully Pockets and his cronie friend Smokie, just laughed more.

Ginny put an arm around the furious Hermione and turned her, walking her away, and got them to keep moving. However, they both heard Pockets say to his pal, "That was worth it, such a gorgeous little arse on her! She'd have been a hell of lay, mate."

Understandably, Ginny felt Hermione tense up, but kept them walking. She had heard, how several years ago Hermione had punched Draco Malfoy in the face and she didn't think a WAAF brawling with a soldier in the middle of a London street was a good idea for keeping a low profile.

They walked further along the road, with Ginny checking over her shoulder a few times, to make sure the two men hadn't followed; luckily they hadn't. She could sense that Hermione was still wound up, and wondered what she could do to help. It was then Ginny saw a cafe coming up that was open; not that they were thirsty, but it was always a good idea in times of trouble.

"Hey, let's get a cuppa," Ginny said, pointing to the cafe coming up on their side of the street. Hermione nodded.

There were several people in the cafe, from all walks of life, possibly due to few places being open on a Sunday, but they found a little table for two and Ginny sat Hermione down at it. In her concern to calm her friend down, she felt braver than she might have down otherwise and went to the counter for the teas without a second thought.

Thankfully the stout woman serving at the counter was very pleasant and Ginny thought she heard the amount to pay as so many pence, so she handed over a shilling and had some change. She said a mental _phew_ in her mind and took the teas over to Hermione.

Hermione was staring at an opposite wall, deep in thought when Ginny got back to the table.

"I'm sorry, Ginny," said Hermione, quietly. "I don't know what happened. I just felt so angry."

"Don't worry about it. They were a right couple of gits."

"I know, but I should be able to keep control better than that, especially..., " Hermione lowered her voice further, "...with the situation we're in. I could have blown it there and then."

"Well, you didn't. We got away and you had the satisfaction of slapping that prat of bloke across the chops." Ginny said, smiling.

"It's just...everything we've been through and what it's taking out of us to be here, and still we're faced with morons. I'm beginning to think some men never grow up!"

"I could have told you that," Ginny said. "Growing up with six brothers, proves it to me."

Ginny took a sip of her tea and nearly spat it out. "Oh my god!" she said, before quietening to a whisper. "What is this stuff? Ditchwater?"

Hermione actually smiled for the first time since before their incident with the soldiers. "There _is_ a war on, you know," she said, amused.

"I know, I know," said Ginny. "But does that mean everyone has to drink hot muddy water?"

This time Hermione snorted with laughter and she felt a hundred times better with herself and the circumstances they were in.

"Well, at least you're laughing," said the redhead, genuinely pleased to see her friend looking happier. "Take a sip of yours and that smile will fade, believe me!"

Hermione took a sip of her tea and grimaced slightly. "I've tasted worse," she said. "Oh well, I guess that adds another person to my list of people who have had a feel-up of my behind. I mean, for goodness sake, do I have a sign on my bum saying 'Feel free to grope'?"

Ginny couldn't stop a giggle from escaping her. "I'm sorry Hermione. But I can definitely say there's no sign on there."

"We haven't been here hardly long enough to take a breath and already we've dealt with lewd sodding blokes." said Hermione.

"I think blokes are the same from wherever they're from and from whatever time. Although," Ginny paused in thought. "...it is a little creepy to think in our own time we might have met their grandchildren. I bet they never find out what grandad was _really_ like!"

Hermione sighed. "There's a possibility they don't survive the war," she said solemnly. "Life is a very fragile thing here, just as it was from where we came from. I suppose that explains why people feel they can take certain risks, 'seizing the moment' and all that. I just wish that hadn't included seizing my backside!"

They were quiet for a few moments, taking sips from their tea, even though it was truly awful. Thinking over the events, Hermione was able to wash her hands and mind of it, and genuinely take some heart from her response to the soldier with the groping hands, only regretting that it hadn't been a punch instead of the slap she had chosen.

Ginny found that the amusement she and Hermione used to cover over the rather awkward event that morning, had faded and she was left feeling annoyed now. _It just isn't right that that man felt he had the right to grab her backside or to then talk of her as something he wanted to shag and try out, _she thought. Thinking on it now, she felt angry with herself that she hadn't either punched the man herself or preferably kicked him in the family jewels. _Ron would have done the same and more,_ she thought, _Yes, but he's not here, is he?_ Ginny knew she had to block it all out and try not to let the anger she felt now, fester. They were both all right and no real harm had been done, so they had to get on with things.

"So what next?" Ginny asked.

"It depends," Hermione answered. "If you're up for walking, we can walk to King's Cross, or take the tube. Only," she whispered. "I know nothing about the tube during wartime London."

"I'm fine for walking, if you are?" said Ginny.

"It might take a little while, but I know where it is from here, so at least that's one thing I'm sure of," Hermione smiled.

They left the cafe, thankful that the tea they had packed in their own refreshments would taste much better than the one they had just bought. They carried on walking the length of Tottenham Court Road. The streets were getting much busier, even though it was a Sunday, and more traffic was on the road, filling the air will the smell of burning oil and weak wartime petrol. It made both girls feel grubby, just walking in the street.

On looking up, Ginny noticed for the first time, what looked like to her, lots of strange shaped huge balloons floating above the buildings, and was so busy looking up at them that she walked straight into a concrete litter bin.

"OUCH! Bloody hell!" Ginny yelped as she had stubbed her toe and banged a knee.

"What did you do?" Hermione asked turning around. She had been deep in thought and hadn't notice Ginny fall back as she hit the bin.

"My fault," Ginny said, hopping slightly. "I was looking at those inflatable fish thingies and not at the pavement ahead."

"Inflatable fish?" Hermione asked.

"Up there," Ginny said pointing upwards as she rubbed a sore knee.

Hermione laughed. "I think you'll find they're barrage balloons. They're up there to deter aircraft from flying too low. They can be taken down and put up as needed," she looked up again herself. "It's kind of weird actually seeing them for real, I've seen so many old photos in books before."

Ginny shrugged her shoulders. "They still look like inflatable fish to me."

After passing many shops, most closed, with some boarded up from bomb damage, some empty, others showing a range of wares and services, the two girls reached the corner of Tottenham Court Road.

"We're getting nearer," said Hermione cheerfully. "We just turn right into Euston Road and King's Cross is the third large station on the left. I imagine it won't look that different to how it looked for us."

A building across the street had major bomb damage, leaving only the skeletal remains of the lower outer walls and broken floors further up. It was like a huge monster had taken a bite from it. It didn't look recent as there was very little rubble and debris near it; it just looked sad and lonely, despite it's presence on a busy London street.

Even Ginny recognized King's Cross station when they reached the crossroads it overlooked. Some of the nearby buildings looked the same, as did the station itself. It had a couple of windows boarded up and was missing a small patch of roof, but it stood there, just like it had for every time they had gone there to catch the Hogwarts Express.

It was a bit of a wait to cross the roads to get to the station, and there was a steady stream of taxis pulling up outside, dropping people off and picking people up. Most people were on foot, however. Soldiers in khaki green with huge kitbags on their backs; sailors with their flared trousers and white flat hats. There were also women in what looked like uniform, but not quite uniform.

Inquisitive over the women in their 'nearly a uniform' attire, Hermione walked closer to one and saw the badge on one of their overcoats. Women's Land Army. The backbone of Britain, doing the farm and land work that men would normally have done, but now couldn't, due to being called up to the military. The WLA were essentially feeding the people, when import supplies were hard to obtain and attain from the shipping being constantly attacked.

"We need to find a timetable," Hermione said to Ginny. "To see what trains stop at Halifax and when."

"It looks like there are some posters over near the ticket office," said Ginny.

They walked over to it, but it just gave the destinations and not specific times. Looking up Hermione spotted a sign over an office counter which stated "Information".

"I'll have to ask," said Hermione.

Luckily there wasn't anyone waiting at the Information Counter, but there wasn't anyone at the position either. There was a little handbell and Hermione picked it up and rang it. A woman railway clerk came to the counter not long after.

"Hello," Hermione started. "I was wondering if you could tell us, when the next train stopping at Halifax leaves, please?"

"Halifax?" the woman said, looking at some papers on the counter desk. "Ah, I'm sorry to say the only one leaving today left at eight o'clock this morning. There was some trouble on the line, a bomb was dropped on it fifty miles from here and they're down to a single lane track for a little while."

"Oh," said Hermione, sounding down. "When will the next train to Halifax be?"

The woman searched through some papers in a folder on the desk. "There should be three a day during the week, but we can't say when the track will be mended and there are other routes that use the line part of the way. However, there should be one at eight o'clock again tomorrow morning. It should leave from platform 9."

Ginny let out a stifled small giggle, which made the railway clerk woman look at her oddly. The redhead coughed, making out she had coughed all along and not giggled.

"Thank you," Hermione said. "Is there a Bed & Breakfast near here or a hotel we could use?"

"There are a couple of reasonably priced B&B hotels just across the street you could try. A lot of hotels are fully booked these days, but give them a try."

"One more thing," said Hermione, suddenly wondering about tickets and whether their papers gave them free travel or not. "We're travelling on orders from the WAAF, will we have to buy tickets or are the fares waived?"

"Do you have your papers?" the woman asked.

Hermione retrieved her papers from her pocket, and feeling a little nervous, wondering if they really were accurate enough, she handed them over the counter. _There's only one way to find out,_ she thought.

"Hmm." said the railway clerk. "Yes...hm...right. You will need to have tickets, but you won't have to pay. It seems you are covered by the Air Ministry's office. Just show these papers at the ticket office tomorrow."

"Thank you for all your help," Hermione said.

"No trouble at all," said the woman behind the counter.

"What were you giggling at?" Hermione asked Ginny, as they walked back to the doors of the station.

"It just struck me as funny about Platform 9. How close it is to, you know, _our_ train."

"Oh," said Hermione. "I didn't think of that, I was concentrating so hard on what the woman was saying and hoping our papers were all right. But now you mention it, yeah, that _is_ spooky."

It took some time to cross the busy road again, but while waiting to cross Hermione and Ginny had seen the signs across the street for two modest-looking hotels.

Finally getting across the road they tried the first hotel, with no luck. All rooms were booked, not so much as a single one available.

The second hotel they tried a few yards away had more luck for them.

"We'd like to rent a room for one night if you have one?" Hermione asked at the reception. "And we'd be leaving early tomorrow morning."

"We're very booked up," said the man at reception, flicking through the book in front of him. He looked to be in his fifties or sixties, balding, but had unfortunately taken the option of growing a long piece of hair from the side of this head and scraping it over his bald scalp. Never a good look, neither for muggles or wizards.

"Ah," he said, stopping on a page of the book. "We have one room left. But it's only a single."

"It's fine, it will do," Hermione said.

The hotel reception man charged them three shillings, and neither Hermione or Ginny knew if that was expensive or cheap. Hermione handed over the money and the man showed them to the room.

It was small and clean but as well as smelling a bit musty, it smelt of cigarette smoke. Hermione remembered that most places would smell like that in the 1940s; smoking was something the majority of people did, unfortunately. There was only the one single bed, and a tiny washbasin with small mirror above it, in the corner; there was also one small wardrobe, bedside cabinet and a small table with chair.

"The toilet and bathroom is down the hall," the man told them. "Remember the Blackout. As soon as you need lights, shut the curtains up. And if the sirens go, there's a large shelter outside at the back of the hotel. Get to that if you can. If you can't, huddle under the table, and pull some sheets and bedding over you. Breakfast is available at 7.30am. Here's your key, you can come and go as you please."

"Thanks," both Hermione and Ginny said, as the man left them, closing the door behind him.

"At least it's somewhere," said Ginny. "I'll take the floor, you can have the bed."

"I think there's enough room for both of us," Hermione said, almost measuring the bed with her eyes. She chuckled then, "We've been pretty snuggled up the past two nights, we've probably only used a single bed space anyway."

"All right, we'll try it," said Ginny. "But if it's not comfortable, I'll take the floor."

It was approaching midday now, but the two women decided to stay in the room and eat something from their picnic box. The rest of the day they thought they would read a little, and maybe take a short walk out later, before getting an early night.

"I suppose it would be too risky to try getting onto platform 9 and 3/4?" Ginny asked, as they sipped tea poured out from the flasks, savouring the flavour much more than the weak ditchwater-tea they had drunk earlier in the day.

"I think it would be very risky," Hermione answered. "I'd love to try it too, but it would look odd to see two WAAFs disappear through the barrier and equally odd for the magical world to see us appear too. Besides, doesn't the barrier shut completely when the train isn't there?"

"I don't think so," Ginny said, thinking. "That time Harry and Ron couldn't get onto the platform was because of Dobby blocking it."

"I think it's something we've got to leave well alone, sadly," said Hermione, feeling very wistful and remembering all the times she had been to the platform and boarded and unboarded the scarlet steam engine's carriages.

Hermione looked through some of her books to see if anything was written about that particular platform and any magical rules it might have, but neither she nor Ginny could find much information on it.

They did indeed go for a short walk, doing a circuit of the roads which surrounded the hotel, just wasting some time as much as anything, not really talking of anything in particular. Sometimes Hogwarts came into conversation, but it wasn't about the Battle, only talking of funny incidents and things they remembered from certain lessons, mostly gloating over anytime a Slytherin did something embarrassing or gained a bad homework mark and loss of House points.

Ginny and Hermione had a small snack from their food box again, for their dinner, and Hermione refilled the flasks with water from the washbasin. Using magic for making the tea was fairly safe where they were, and as she suspected the flasks had special properties, because the dregs of tea left before she refilled them were just as hot as the contents had been that morning, before they left Godric's Hollow. She was thankful that Ginny had insisted on taking lots of tea with them; at least they'd always have a fresh cuppa close at hand.

After a time the two girls prepared their things, ready for the morning, then set about getting ready for an early night.


	15. Nightmares and Trains

**A/N: I thought I'd post another chapter for the Christmas weekend. I'm a bit of a Bah Humbug myself, but I hope everyone has a good festive time with friends and family.**

**I hope I'm not going too slowly with this, I just like to experience the journey with Hermione and Ginny. At this point I have written 48 chapters (so far...) and having read through a few times I've seen no need to cut time or edit out bits, because everything is part of the whole and adds to things as it goes along. :)**

15: Nightmares and Trains

Ginny and Hermione were concerned about being ready to leave the next morning and also as Hermione pointed out, if there was an air raid siren and they had to get out of the room quickly, they didn't really want to have to scrabble around for _all_ their clothes. With this in mind, they chose to sleep in their shirts and underwear, with their trousers, jackets and shoes at the end of the bed. Everything else was either in the beaded bag or in their jacket pockets, their wands would be under the pillow again.

"Right, let's see if we can fit into this bed," Hermione said, pulling back the covers, before they slid in from the sides. It was narrow, but there was just enough room to fit side by side.

"Er, Hermione?" Ginny asked. "Can I have my hand back please?"

Hermione became aware that the lump she felt under her back wasn't her shirt bundling up but Ginny's hand.

"Why did you put your hand there?" Hermione asked.

"I didn't have any time to move it before you laid on it!" said Ginny, pulling her hand free.

A little jiffling and finally both seemed to have found it more comfortable, and allowed more space, if they laid on their sides, back to back.

The thick curtains were closed over the windows, so they decided to keep the light on, although they dimmed it, not feeling ready for pitch black darkness.

They set a small magical alarm for 7am, it was essentially going to come from Hermione's watch, although it didn't have an alarm itself, but magic made many things possible.

"Sleep well," Hermione said as she closed her eyes.

"You too," Ginny replied.

The day had been more tiring than expected, mentally as much as physically, from the constant need to feel alert; an ever present feeling of being on edge. Sleep, therefore, wasn't far away.

In her mind, the small part of Ginny that was aware she was dreaming, was relieved to find she was not having a dream about Hogwarts..._zzzzzzz_

She was back at the Burrow, her parents and Hermione were there. Although she didn't see him, she knew that Ron was around somewhere, and when she asked her mother about him she was told he was off fishing. _Ron, fishing? Since when could he fish?_ she thought in her dream. _Nevermind, dreams are dreams._The scene kind of blurred and she found herself sitting in the garden with Hermione.

"So have you and my brother kissed yet?" she asked Hermione.

"Of course," the dream Hermione said. "We hope to have a bath together tonight."

"WHAT?" her dream self said.

"Oh come on, Ginny," said Hermione. "We all know what you and Harry get up to. It's nothing that you haven't done before with him!"

"I've never taken a bath with Harry!" she said astounded. "We've only kissed a few times...fully clothed!"

"Perhaps you should get him into the bath, and learn a few things," said Hermione with a smirk. "Then there's the first time, which is a bit scary, but after that it's easy!"

"WHAT?" Ginny spluttered again. "Do you mean _the_ first time?"

"Yes, _the_ first time," Hermione said, almost smug.

"Y...y...y...you mean you and Ron have...?"

"Of course we have!" Hermione said.

"You never told me?" Ginny said, shocked.

"You never asked."

"Well I didn't ask because I didn't think you'd even locked lips, let alone..._that_," Ginny said. She was growing very uncomfortable, and feeling a little upset with this dream and feeling completely on edge with it all, although she wasn't sure what it was that had unbalanced her so much.

The scene blurred and they were standing in the living room at the Burrow. Ron appeared suddenly, and walked up behind Hermione and grabbed her backside. Hermione turned and laughed a laugh like tinkling bells as she threw her arms around Ron and kissed him in front of Ginny; but in one of the hands Ron had around Hermione, he held a large fang-like tooth, dripping with blood. _Basilisk fang?_ Ginny thought.

"What are you doing with that?" Ginny asked, confused. Hermione hadn't heard her and was snuggling in closer to Ron.

"I have to do this. It's the only way I can keep her safe, no one else can," replied Ron, sadly. The next moment he was raising the basilisk fang and about to stab it into Hermione's back.

"NO! It's all wrong! NOOOO!" Ginny shouted at them, but they didn't seem to hear her, or even remember that she was there, and oddly Ron held the fang still, and hadn't yet stabbed with it. It was like the proverbial death sentence hanging over Hermione. Then Ron looked at his sister and gave a sad smile and was about to thrust the fang home.

"NO! RON!"..._zzzzzzz_

Ginny awoke with a start, flinching slightly in the bed. Her heart was beating fast and she put a hand to her head and found a little sweat on her forehead. _What the hell was that all about?_ she thought, feeling troubled. _Am I still angry that I didn't do more to help with those soldiers? Or that we didn't tell Ron where we were going?_ She faintly shook her head. _Maybe it didn't mean anything, other than the events of today getting muddled up with all the stress? Yes, that's got to be it. _

Moving her head slightly to look over her shoulder to check that Hermione was still asleep, she put her head down on the pillow again and drifted off back to sleep herself.

Hermione was dreaming too..._zzzzzzz_

She was at Hogwarts, but not at the Battle, to her own relief; she was walking with Ron across the Entrance Courtyard. Ron was complaining about some homework he hadn't done yet. _I see some things never change, even in dreams_, Hermione thought to herself as she was dreaming.

There wasn't a lot of talking, and nothing that interesting was spoken of when they did speak, until there was mention of the Yule Ball.

"You could go with me, Hermione, if you wanted to?" Ron said to her.

"Is that your rather lame attempt to ask me?" she said, unsurprised.

"Well, maybe. I know you'd like to go with me, wouldn't you?" the red-haired young man said.

"What? Are you saying you don't really want to go with me, unless I want to?" Hermione was feeling very frustrated and irritated for some reason.

"I assumed, that you assumed we were going together as we've been so close lately." Ron tried to explain, but was making things sound worse.

"And you don't want to?" she asked, close to shouting at him.

"Of course I want to go with you, it's just...,"

"It's just _what_?" she asked.

"I want you to know that I'll always try to be there for you, but in case I can't be, there are others."

"Others? Other what? What others?" Hermione tried to pin him with a frown.

Ron stopped, grasped both of her hands in his, turning her to face him. "Hermione, we both know something big is coming, something bad. I can't promise you anything. But I have other brothers, other Weasley's."

"Other brothers?" Hermione, pulled free of Ron, and slapped him around the arm. "You think, if something happened to you, I'd end up with George, or Charlie?"

"I'm just giving you options to consider," said Ron, completely seriously. "We have to be realistic."

"Options? Realistic?" Hermione said, angry beyond belief. "I can't believe you sometimes! Do you ever have a decent thought in that head of yours?"

"I think maybe it's best if we don't go to the Yule Ball together. I can see that we'd only argue, I'm always upsetting you somehow," said Ron, turning and walking away from her.

"RON!" she shouted. "Oh Ron, you...you tosspot!" _NO_, she thought, _NO, what are you saying? Go after him._ But the dream Hermione stayed where she was, tears rolling down her cheeks almost sobbing. "RON! NO! Come back! RON!"

The scene blurred and she was standing in the Gryffindor Common Room, looking out of a window, she seemed to be crying still when she felt someone walk up behind her and wrap their arms around her..._zzzzzzz_

She awoke with a start, breathing heavily, her pulse racing, her face wet with tears and yet she did indeed have an arm around her.

"Are you all right?" the familiar voice of Ginny asked, as she realized that Hermione was now awake.

"I think so," Hermione replied. "Was I shouting out or something?"

"Yeah," Ginny said, softly. "You were flinching in your sleep and sort of whimpering. I was afraid you were going to fall out of the bed."

Hermione placed a hand over the one Ginny had wrapped around her and squeezed it. "It was another completely stupid and disturbing dream. Sorry if I woke you up."

"I had one of those dreams too," admitted Ginny, as Hermione turned to lay on her back, so she could look at her friend.

"I suppose we have to expect it, with everything we've seen and these mad circumstances we find ourselves in," said Hermione as she put a hand to her face to wipe her tears away.

"It doesn't make it any more pleasant though, does it? Even if we know why we're dreaming them," offered Ginny. "I've always had daft dreams, as everyone does, but never ones like these before."

"Same here," said Hermione. "Although, I started having odd dreams as soon as Ron, Harry and I were on the run."

Hermione checked her watch, it was 4am. "We've got another three hours, hopefully we can get some better quality rest in that time."

No words were spoken, but when Hermione rolled back on her side she still held onto Ginny's hand, and that kept the arm around her too. As the two previous nights they accepted that they needed to be close to one another to feel more confident and strong, and went to sleep with Hermione holding Ginny's hand, and Ginny's arm wrapped around the brunette as she snuggled up to Hermione's back. Thankfully there wasn't an air raid siren, and dreamless sleep came to them both.

XXXXXXXXXX

As things turned out, the alarm Hermione had devised wasn't needed, with both young women awake a few minutes before then, as if they had inbuilt clocks in their heads.

"Did you have anymore bad dreams?" Ginny asked her friend.

"No, nothing, thankfully," said Hermione as she was washing her face at the basin. "How about you?"

"Nothing I remember," said Ginny. "Not even a decent food dream!"

They had a quick freshen up and got dressed. The dressing didn't take long, having gone to bed wearing a third of their clothes anyway. Hermione did run a quick variation of the _tergeo_ spell over them, to freshen up their shirts and iron out any major creases.

"Are we going to breakfast, or having something quickly here?" Ginny asked.

"I think something here," said Hermione.

They ended up halving one of the small pies the elves had brought them at Godric's Hollow. In this case it was a nice cheese and broccoli quiche, which they decided to have cold. This was accompanied by a nice cup of tea from one of the flasks, which Hermione then topped up before packing it back in the box and into her bag. The two women quickly brushed their teeth and checked they hadn't left anything, before donning their hats and leaving the room, visiting the toilet for a last stop.

It was just gone 7.30am by now and Hermione went to the reception to hand back the key and sign out. As she was waiting for the balding man at reception to find up the correct form for her to sign, she was wondering on the fact there was no air raid siren last night.

"The sirens didn't go off last night, did they?" Hermione asked, pondering if the strange deep dreams she and Ginny had had, somehow made them deaf to other noise.

"We were lucky, 'Jerry' didn't want to come after us last night " the man said. "But the East End got hit again, so I heard on the wireless. They're saying some of the fires will be burning for days. Poor buggers have had enough of it, I reckon."

"Yes, that's dreadful," Hermione replied, only able to imagine it and think back to muggle documentaries she remembered seeing on television. She so wanted to tell the man that everything would be all right in the end, and in two years time it would nearly be over. Yet again, she had a glimpse of the power she and Ginny possessed and how much responsibility they had.

Hermione signed the form presented to her, remembering she was Helen Summers for this, and handed it back to the man.

"Thank you," Hermione said as she turned and walked with Ginny out of the hotel door.

The traffic wasn't too bad yet and they were able to cross the road to King's Cross station without too much delay.

As they entered the station, both Ginny and Hermione pulled out their papers as they went to the ticket office. Hermione went first, and explained about their travel and inquired if there was still a train to Halifax. Fortunately the train was in the station, waiting and ready. There was no trouble at the ticket office, and they were supplied with tickets that they didn't have to pay for, just as the clerk had told them yesterday.

"Even I know where Platform 9 is," said Ginny, as they walked through to the platforms.

On reaching Platform 9, Ginny couldn't help but stare at the barrier which would take them to the Hogwarts Express. However, she was taken from her thoughts on Hogwarts when she saw the train she would be boarding, standing at the furthest end of the platform. It was essentially a black version of the Hogwarts Express, and the carriages looked the same too.

"Hermione?" she asked, then lowered her voice. "It's a steam engine."

"Very observant!" Hermione smiled.

"But, I thought," Ginny looked around to make sure no one was nearby, before almost whispering. "I thought muggle trains were more...what _you_ called advanced?"

"Not in 1940s Britain they weren't," said Hermione. "See? I told you we wouldn't find our train travel that odd."

"No need to be so smug, Hermyhoney Helen!" said Ginny.

"All right, _Joan_!"

Both girls snorted with laughter, and walked alongside the carriages to pick a place to sit. They found an empty compartment, which looked just like the kind they had travelled in for hours on their trips to and from school. They sat opposite each other, and hoped no one else would come to share the compartment.

"Do we know how long this journey is?" asked Ginny.

"No, but it could be a few hours. I suppose it depends on the track, the stops and other things."

In the last few minutes before the train was due to leave the station, the platform became much more busy. It was mostly populated by servicemen from all parts of the military; some travelling with their friends, some travelling alone. Hermione remembered watching some old war movies and how all the wives and girlfriends would see off their menfolk, but there wasn't much evidence of that here this morning. She supposed the lack of embracing soldiers and womenfolk might be because their train was going north and generally, embarkation to the war would be more likely to go south. So a train going north wouldn't have such an emotional connection to leaving for war.

They both hoped that no one else would decide to share their compartment, but unfortunately two men came in, one in army uniform and one in a black overcoat and trilby hat. Hermione and Ginny both sat near the window, which was a good place to be, because they could look out of the window and avoid eye contact with the others.

Finally they heard the guard's whistle and a lurch as the train began on its journey. Hermione felt her pulse quicken, knowing they were getting closer to their destination with every turn of the train's wheels. Ginny actually felt a little sick, and swallowed a few times; she soon recognized it was nerves, like the ones she would feel before a quidditch match, and got herself feeling calmer in a short time.

Hermione occasionally looked out of the corner of her eye at the two men, wondering about them. She was relieved to find that the man in black, was a vicar, with the telltale white dogcollar visible at his neck. The army man seemed to be an officer, as his uniform looked smoother and smarter than an ordinary soldier's attire, which boded well for someone knowing how to behave themselves.

Craftily, Hermione looked out of the window but was instead studying the reflection of the compartment with the people in it. The officer was an older man, with a moustache, and he had pulled out a newspaper and had begun to read. The vicar was reading a book; Hermione assumed it was a Bible, but later worked out the mirrored words as _The Murder At The Vicarage_, by Agatha Christie. _Is he planning one, or has he seen one?_ thought Hermione amused. This knowledge made her want to laugh and for a little while she had to concentrate on the hedgerows outside the carriage window to avoid an outburst of giggling. She avoided looking at Ginny too, because for some reason she felt Ginny would make her laugh without doing anything.

Having company in the compartment made Hermione and Ginny's life a little more difficult. They had to think very carefully before saying anything, and they certainly couldn't take anything out of Hermione's bag. This would be doubly difficult if the journey was very long, because Ginny's stomach would not be so accomodating to the situation.

The two women found themselves just pointing to things out of the window. Bomb damage as they left through London and then landmarks, like churches and villages, and more bomb damage in the towns they stopped in.

There were lots of stops, and after the novelty of the first five neither Hermione or Ginny were as interested. Not long after the fifth stop, the conductor came round.

"Tickets please?" he asked.

The army officer and the vicar produced theirs and Hermione and Ginny handed theirs over. Hermione didn't know why they hadn't been checked before now. If someone had wanted to, they could have had a free ride from London to any of the first five stops.

"Thank you very much," said the conductor as he handed back the tickets to the two women. He closed the slide door and walked on further through the carriage.

Hermione was hoping that the army officer and the vicar had talked more with the conductor, so she could get an idea of where they were going, or if they were stuck with them until their own stop at Halifax.

After what seemed like a long time, Hermione looked at her watch and saw it was gone 10am now, even the outside view through the window was getting boring. One town or village blurred into the next, one forest in the distance looked like another.

They hadn't spoken much for the last half hour and when Hermione looked up at Ginny again she saw the girl had her eyes shut, and her head was leaning against the window, making her hat slightly askew. Hermione smiled and again felt so thankful that she wasn't alone on this journey.

Although she felt treacherous to think it, she was also glad it was Ginny with her and not Ron. Everything with Ron would be like dragging a heavy stone around. He was more than capable of the task they had been set, there was no doubt about that, and they would have looked after each other. However, if there was a disagreement about a course of action, it would be near impossible to work with Ron. He would also be constantly trying to protect her, which, while sweet, was not wanted and would be annoying and possibly compromise what they were trying to achieve.

As Hermione looked at the dozing Ginny, she wondered just what the redhead was feeling inside. She had lost her brother and her boyfriend and although she had admitted that fact and had talked of it, Hermione still wondered about the turmoil inside her. At least Hermione's parents were relatively safe in Australia, but Ginny's family were all at Hogwarts. She could only imagine the impact of Ginny's bad dreams, and just what they were making her relive, and her own mind and heart were full of admiration for the girl.

The train was slowing down again, and the army officer stood up, pulling his uniform straight, tucked his newspaper under his arm and left the compartment. The vicar had looked up, and then looked out of the window. He closed his book and also stood, leaving the compartment too.

Hermione didn't dare to hardly think it, but several minutes after the train had got moving again, no one else came to their compartment.

"Thank goodness for that," she said, huffing out a large sigh.

Ginny had stirred. "W...what?" she sat up straight and suddenly alert, realizing she had dozed off. "Are we there?"

"No," Hermione replied. "But we have the compartment to ourselves now."

"About time!" Ginny said. "I thought we'd be stuck with those two old duffers for the whole journey."

"Me too," agreed Hermione. She pulled out her beaded bag; looking at the compartment door to check they weren't being overlooked, she pulled out a flask, and poured out a tea for Ginny and herself. She also pulled out a tin of shortbread biscuits.

"You're a life saver!" Ginny said, taking a bite of shortbread.

"Not really, just organized," Hermione said back, smiling.

The rest of the journey there were several more helpings of shortbread and tea. They talked of mundane things, and even tried a game or two; however _I spy_ was a nonstarter in a bland wartime train carriage.

Hermione had never been to Halifax in her own time, and certainly didn't know what it looked like in 1943, so she didn't know how much closer they were to the place. There had been several stages of the journey where the train had been almost crawling, possibly to do with damage to the track.

Both women were relieved in more ways than one, to find there was a toilet at the end of their carriage. It was incredibly basic and nearly required the user to be a contortionist to get into the little room, but Hermione knew that was also the case on modern trains. They were both thankful to only need it a couple of times. It cost a penny to even get through the door, which amused Hermione with the saying of 'Spending a penny' brought vividly to life.

It was approaching midday, when the train slowed down again, and as the train crawled to a halt, Hermione spotted signs along the long platform which said 'Halifax'.


	16. The White Hart

**A/N: Next chapter. **

**As far as I know, not much is known about Great Hangleton from JK Rowling's world, so I've taken the name of the village, but created some things myself, along with some characters. So it may not be how JK thought of it, or how anyone else thought it would be...but if we all thought the same, the world would be very boring indeed!**

16: The White Hart

"We're here," Hermione said, before they both stood up, straightening out any creases and brushing off any stray shortbread crumbs. She felt a small jolt within herself, somewhere between excitement and apprehension.

"I'm sure the Hogwarts Express is quicker than this thing," said Ginny, feeling the same sensations in her own body and mind. It was a feeling that said _This is all really happening...yes, really_.

"It probably _is_ faster," replied the brunette. "But that _is_ in the magical world."

Hermione and Ginny walked off the train and stepped foot onto Halifax station. They both felt a little stiff and tired, and it felt funny to start walking on solid ground again. Hermione suspected they looked almost drunk as they walked off the platform.

It was chilly, with a cold wind, and when they were in an unobserved place, Hermione planned to take out their greatcoats from her bag, because their military jackets alone didn't feel warm enough. The sky was grey and it looked like rain would be in the air at some point in the day.

"What's our next step?" asked Ginny, as they walked into the station building, which was quite a bit smaller than the huge King's Cross.

"We need to find a way to get to Little Hangleton, from here," said Hermione. "From the notes we had it should be northwest of here.

"Could we ask someone?" asked Ginny. "It might save us some vague wanderings to get a more exact placement, or at least a proper direction."

"I'm not sure," said Hermione thinking, and she whispered when she spoke again. "We'll be stating where we're going. Dumbledore said it was unlikely anyone else was here, but it makes me feel a little uneasy, especially as Little Hangleton has so many magical ties."

There was silence for a moment as the two girls stood by a poster on one of the station walls.

"What if we asked for Great Hangleton?" suggested Ginny. "If I remember from all the notes, it's much bigger and a muggle village, and the 'Little' one should be easy to find from it."

"Hmm," thought Hermione, tiredly. "Yeah, that would be better."

"I'll ask at the ticket office," said Ginny, looking around. "I'll have to, there doesn't appear to be an information place open."

Ginny went up to the ticket office counter and was faced by a man in his fifties, with a beard and moustache. "I was wondering if you could tell us, where Great Hangleton is from here?" she asked, deciding to take the lead, as it was her idea.

"Are you walking?" asked the man.

"Um, yes," said Ginny.

"Oh, it will be a hell of walk, love," said the man. "It's near ten miles from here and there's a few big hills from here to there."

"Are there taxis available?" asked Hermione, coming to Ginny's rescue.

"Not many, but we can call you one, if you want?"

Hermione looked to Ginny, and nodded. Money wasn't an issue, but walking ten miles in what sounded like challenging terrain and with the cold and threat of rain, a taxi suddenly seemed the best option.

"Yes, that would be best. Could you call one for us, please?" Hermione asked.

"Certainly," said the man. "If you wait over there, on that bench, then when it arrives the driver can see where you are."

"Thank you," said Hermione.

The bench was opposite the ticket office counter and within sight of the main doors.

"Like we need to sit down, after four hours of it?" said Ginny, sarcastically, as they made their way to the bench. "Is taking a taxi a risk?"

"We didn't have long to think it over," answered Hermione. "But I thought we're tired and walking ten miles, and possibly in cold and wet weather isn't going to do us any good at all. We don't want to be getting ill, or exhausted if we can help it. I'm hoping the taxi can drop us at a Bed & Breakfast or pub. It shouldn't look odd to anyone. And besides we're going to Great Hangleton, not Little."

"I hate having to think like we're paranoid, even when we're not," said Ginny. "How on earth did you do it for all those months?"

"It wasn't easy," admitted Hermione.

In their current position, Hermione couldn't retrieve their greatcoats or anything else from her beaded bag for the moment, but having a taxi take them for the next stage of the journey, made things easier in a lot of ways.

After about fifteen minutes of sitting on the bench, a tall man with grey hair walked into the station, and looked over to them.

"Are you the two WAAFs wanting a taxi?"

The two girls nodded and stood up as he beckoned to them to follow. They walked behind him out of the station and to his taxi. It was a lot smaller than the big black cabs Hermione was used to in London in her own time; in comparison this taxi looked almost toy-like. On the front grill of the car was the name 'Austin'.

Ginny and Hermione got into the back of the taxi and were surprised that there was more room in the car than appeared on the outside.

"So girls, you want to go to Great Hangleton?" asked the taxi driver.

"Yes," replied Hermione. "We're not very familiar with it. Is there a place we can stay there?"

"There's no hotels," the driver told them. "But The White Hart has rooms."

"Is that a pub?" asked Hermione.

"Yes," he said, as the taxi started off, chugging slightly. "The only one in the village, but it's one of those old ones. All timbers and plaster. A friend of mine used to live in Great Hangleton and he said that pub goes back to around 1500. He claimed Dick Turpin had been there once, but don't all old pubs claim that these days?" he laughed.

"That's still quite old," said Hermione, smiling, knowing full well how ghostly or historical tales improved tourism and were put into use for centuries, until it almost became fact or at least legend.

"Are you visiting someone, or doing something for work there?" asked the taxi driver.

"A bit of both," said Hermione, quickly thinking how to answer in the least mysterious way she could. Ginny was leaving the talking to Hermione for the moment.

"You haven't got to go to that base have you?" he asked.

"Base? I don't think so."

"Glad to hear it," said the driver, as they left the town and began to hit countryside. "You want to be careful around them Yanks from that base. All smiles and gifts, but that always leads to trouble. Just you be careful if you have to be around them."

"We will," said Hermione, wanting to laugh because she remembered some of the stories her grandmother had told her.

The women of Britain, and indeed the children, mostly had wonderful experiences with the American servicemen who flooded the country. They were generous, fun and coming from such a far off country it made them much more interesting and almost exotic to the people in a wartorn rationed country. The results did include an increase in the birth rates, but those young men lightened up the smallest and dullest of villages and towns. The British men didn't like it a lot as they couldn't compete with gifts of silk stockings and cans of fruit and many things people hadn't seen for years, and of course many a wife or girlfriend strayed off to an American, which made the British male even more wary of their American allies.

_What was it Grandma had said about a phrase used for the Yanks?_ Hermione thought, _Something about being over paid? Yes, 'over paid, over sexed and over here_!', she struggled not to laugh out loud when she remembered it.

The road was quite bumpy and already Ginny and Hermione could see that the ten miles walking would have been horrendous, with hills and twists and turns. The car kept chugging and once or twice it almost coughed.

"Blasted wartime petrol!" the driver said as the car choked and nearly stopped running altogether. The driver kept the car going somehow and they continued their journey.

Looking out of the windows, Ginny and Hermione could see the sweeping countryside, with green hills, lush fields and wooded areas in equal measure, with only the occasional farmhouse or cottage.

It's wasn't too long before more cottages and houses appeared and they found themselves being driven through the main street of a good sized village. There was a church at the end of the street and opposite the church was a large white building, with timbers showing, and the upper floors overhanging the bottom floor. A large square sign hung outside the upper floor, moving slightly in the wind. It showed a painting of a magnificent white stag and was labelled underneath as 'The White Hart'.

"Harry," said Ginny in a quiet voice.

"What?" asked Hermione, wondering if she had heard incorrectly.

"The white stag," said Ginny. "It was his...you know..._thingy_," she continued, avoiding saying something that the driver might overhear or question.

"Oh! Of course," said Hermione, feeling very slow in recognizing that Harry's patronus was a stag.

The driver told them the fare was one shilling and sixpence. As she handed over the money, Hermione had a feeling that a bus would have been much cheaper but they had no idea about buses in this part of the world.

The taxi moved off again, chucking out a lot of black smoke until it got running properly. They looked up at The White Hart pub then looked at each other.

"We have some choices now," said Hermione. "We can stay here for the rest of the day and rent a room for the night here. Or we can have some lunch here, and walk to Little Hangleton and stay at The Hanged Man pub we _know_ is there."

"I know we haven't done much today, except sit around travelling," said Ginny. "But I think I'd like to stay here for a night, then move on tomorrow morning."

"I'm in total agreement," said Hermione. "It might be nice to look around the village and try to rest a little before...the next stage."

Even as they stood outside the pub, there were people walking up and down the main street, the occasional car passing through, a couple of horse and carts, people on bicycles and a couple of men in uniform.

Hermione and Ginny nodded to each other and walked into The White Hart, immediately being hit by the smell of cigarette smoke, both stale and fresh, the smell of ale and the smell of an old building just discernible underneath the other smells.

"Does everywhere reek like one of Snape's potions gone wrong?" muttered Ginny, in a voice only Hermione could hear.

"At this point in time, I'm afraid so," said Hermione, battling with herself not to wrinkle up her nose at the stench of tobacco smoke.

"Maybe we really need our gas masks after all!" said Ginny drily.

There weren't many people in the pub, just a couple of old men reading a newspaper with a cup of tea, and a man wiping over tables. It would be unlikely for alcohol to be drunk in much quantity yet, and that would be reserved for the evening.

Hermione walked up to the bar, which was empty; she found a small hand bell and picked it up, ringing it gently.

A woman emerged from out the back of the bar, from what could have been the kitchen. Hermione had read in an old book once about never trusting a thin 'innkeeper'. This woman was plump, so it was a good start.

"Yes?" asked the woman.

"We were wondering if you have a room we could rent for the night?" Hermione asked.

"There are two rooms, but both are doubles," said the woman. "Do you want both rooms or are you happy to double up?"

"We'll be okay doubling up," said Ginny, seeing Hermione nod in agreement.

"That will be a shilling a night," the woman said.

Hermione handed over a shilling and the woman got her to fill in her name in a small book. Again, the room would be holding Helen Summers and Joan Townsend.

"If you follow me, I'll show you to your room," said the woman.

She flipped up part of the bar surface and walked through and past Ginny and Hermione, who followed her. They went through a door on the far side of the room which opened to a hall, the other side of which was another door, leading to what looked like a large sitting room, but they turned and climbed some wooden stairs, which finished on a landing part-hallway with a few doors, but they turned and went up another flight of wooden stairs. On the top floor of the pub there were four doors, and the plump woman took them through one of the doors at the end of the landing.

"Here we are then," said the pub landlady. "The bathroom is the door opposite yours. Food is extra, but we do serve breakfasts, lunches and teas...well, dinners or suppers if you're posh!"

"Thank you," said Hermione.

"By the way, I'm Charlotte Jacobs but everyone knows me as Lottie," said the woman. "My husband is Alf, and he was downstairs wiping the tables when you arrived, and is usually serving behind the bar in the evenings. Anyway, if you need anything, come and find us. It might be we don't have what you need, thanks to this bloody war," Lottie laughed. "But we'll try to help where we can." The woman paused a moment looking at Ginny and Hermione, taking in their youth. "There is one thing. You're not to bring any men up here. I won't have any of that sort of shenanigans under my roof."

"That won't be a problem," said Ginny.

"And if you go out, be back by 11pm please," said Lottie firmly, but not unkindly. "We can't be unlocking and locking our doors at all hours."

"You'll have no problem with us on that account either," said Hermione.

"Right," said Lottie. "I hope you enjoy your stay." She then walked out of the room, closing the door behind her.

Ginny flopped down on the double bed, letting out a huge sigh. "It's like being back at school!" said the redhead. "Rules, times, no this, no that, and mind your self with the other."

"Lottie doesn't seem too bad," Hermione said. "I think compared to what Harry use to say of his Aunt Petunia, Lottie is lovely."

"You're all right with us sharing again, aren't you?" Ginny asked. "I just thought it would save money, but we'd be together too, in case anything happens."

"I think it's a good idea," Hermione replied. "There's less chance of me falling out of this bed tonight, but it's nice not to be alone."

"Exactly," said Ginny, a tiny bit embarrassed.

There was one window which overlooked the village main street with the church opposite. They both looked out of the window, trying to take in details.

"It looks like the road curls out of sight once it passes the church," said Hermione, craning her neck and looking in the direction the road was taking. "I think I can see a white signpost just past the church."

"Where?" Ginny said, looking and then seeing an oblong of white board on a post. "We'll take a look later."

"It could be something to do with the church, I suppose," said Hermione. "We'll find out, anyway."

"Can you see anything in the distance to suggest where Little Hangleton is?" Ginny asked. "All I can see are the buildings from the village and a few trees and hedges."

"I think we're on fairly high ground," said Hermione. "If Little Hangleton is on lower ground, then we probably wouldn't be able to see anything from here and we're not really sure which direction it's in."

Ginny sat back on the bed, and not long after there was a loud gurgling noise from her stomach.

"Is that your subtle way of saying 'let's have lunch please'?" asked Hermione.

"I can't help it! It has a mind of its own!" Ginny said. "But, yes, lunch would be a good idea. Let's see what they have here, if we don't like it, we have our own stuff."

Leaving their WAAF hats in the room, not wanting to have to wear them longer than they had to, and leaving the gas mask bags as well, they made their way downstairs.

Lottie saw them make their way into the main bar room again. "Are you coming down for lunch, girls?" she asked.

"Yes, if that's possible?" asked Hermione.

"Well, we have a fisherman's pie or chicken and mushroom pie, with carrots."

Hermione had had enough of mushrooms while camping out with Ron and Harry so opted for the fisherman's pie and Ginny joined her.

They sat at a table in the pub and after about ten minutes a couple of soldiers walked in, their eyes immediately looked over to them and the two men smiled warmly.

"Hello boys," Alf said to the soldiers, appearing behind the bar. "Back again? You're not going to tell me it's for the food, surely?" he laughed.

"It's not bad," said one. "But we just love being in a proper old pub, even if your beer is warm! We've brought you a few things today..."

There was more small talk and chuckles between Alf and the two soldiers, but Hermione had heard them speak.

"Watch out Ginny," said Hermione, in an amused voice only Ginny could hear. "They're those scandalous Americans we have to be careful with!"

"Really?" Ginny said, turning a little to take another look. "They don't look scandalous to me. They look rather smart. Better than those skanky soldiers we saw in London."

"Don't keep staring Ginny, they'll think you're interested!" said Hermione, slightly worried. "Bugger, too late."

One of the two American soldiers had kept looking at the girls' table and when he saw Ginny looking interested at them, he had nudged his companion and gestured to the table. They handed over some items to Alf, which looked like cans and small boxes of something, then turned and started walking over to the table.

"Hi," said the first one, taking off his hat, and sliding it under the epaulette of his army jacket. He had almost black hair and warm brown eyes. His companion had lighter brown hair and green eyes. Both were clean shaven, and well groomed.

"Hello," said Ginny back.

"You're in the Air Force then, girls?" the dark-haired man asked.

"Yes, WAAFs," Ginny said.

Hermione was watching the exchange between the soldiers and Ginny, trying to detect anything that seemed wrong or out of place.

"We don't see many of you this way," said the brown-haired man. "Nice surprise."

"You're American, then?" Hermione asked, then wanted to slap her own forehead. _How bloody stupid is that question? They're not exactly German, are they?_

"We sure are," said the black-haired one, smiling a winning smile.

Looking at their uniforms quickly, Hermione saw that the brown-haired man had two inverted chevons on each arm, which she assumed must be a corporal like herself, even though the American chevrons were the other way around to her own. The black-haired man had three inverted chevrons, which she guessed was a sergeant...probably.

"Are you waiting for someone?" asked the black-haired sergeant.

"No, we're just waiting for lunch," said Ginny.

"Do you mind if we join you?" asked the sergeant.

Hermione felt like falling flat on her face on the table and banging her head several times, but there was no way to get out of this, not politely and certainly not without drawing a bit more attention to themselves. _Bugger! _Hermione thought, _We can't get out of this one. Oh nevermind!_ _It might even be interesting_,


	17. The Yanks

**A/N: These have been fun characters to introduce, and are based loosely on a real encounter had by a relative of mine. (The names are fictional). You might feel this is a strange chapter...but it's all part of the 'whole' and I had fun with it. :)**

**My affection for US servicemen goes a bit deeper than just historical interest. Thanks to one of the local US bases hearing about my grandparents wedding in 1944, (in one of the villages near to their base) my grandparents were able to have a wedding cake. The Americans provided all the ingredients for it, which weren't available anywhere else. :)**

**I have no idea if there was a US base in the location I have roughly put it for the story...so I've improvised. Ah...fiction and writer's artistic licence are wonderful things. :)**

17: The Yanks

The sergeant was looking expectantly at the two young women, hoping they would accept their company.

"Okay," said Hermione. "As long as you don't mind us eating in front of you?"

"We've just ordered some fisherman's pie, so we'll be eating too," said the sergeant.

"That's what we've ordered," said Ginny.

"Let's introduce ourselves properly," said the sergeant. "I'm Matt Riccardi and this ugly guy is Joe O'Driscoll," he said gesturing to his companion.

"I'm Gin-oan," Ginny stumbled to say, nearly saying 'Ginny' before she remembered herself and Hermione kicked her under the table. She covered it up by coughing, and flapping a hand in apology.

"What my friend is trying to babble out," said Hermione. "...is she's Joan, but a lot of people know her as Gin. I'm Helen."

The two Americans gave a laugh as they sat down opposite the two women. "Do they call you 'Gin' because you drink a lot of it?" asked Matt, amused.

"No," said Ginny, trying to think of something fast. "Ah...my Grandmother was called Joan too, so to avoid confusion I had a nickname."

Hermione was very impressed with Ginny's quick-thinking. It was highly unlikely that these two Americans were dangerous in a Voldemort-connected way, but it was best to keep to their fake identities or things might get very difficult.

"What brings you to Great Hangleton?" asked Joe. He drawled out the 'Hangleton' part and made the word sound twice as long as it usually was.

"Work," Hermione answered.

"What kind?" asked Matt.

"We...um...can't tell you that, it's all...er..," Hermione said.

Matt held up his hand apologetically. "No problem!" he said. "I understand. You can't talk about it. There _is_ a war on, or so I'm always being told," he added chuckling. "I won't ask you further."

The two young women felt relieved that Matt and Joe seemed to understand the notion of war work often being secret and not supposed to be talked about.

"You're in the army?" Hermione asked, trying not to sound too idiotic.

"Yes we are," said Joe. "We're in the Engineers," he said pointing to the brass circular badges on their lapel collars which had what looked like a castle with two towers.

"So what part of America do you come from?" asked Hermione.

"I'm from Syracuse, New York State," said Matt.

"I'm from Wisconsin, a little place called La Grange in Walworth County," said Joe, obviously very proud of the place. "How about you girls? You're not locals?"

"No we're not locals," Ginny said. "I'm originally from Devon."

Hermione thought hard about her identity and remembered that she was also supposed to be from there and that Joan and Helen knew each other before the war. "Me too," said Hermione.

"Is that south from here or north?" asked Matt.

"South," said Hermione.

The meals they had ordered arrived, and considering there _was_ a war on, it looked and smelled nice. The portions of fisherman's pie had a home-cooked look about them, the carrots were fresh and succulent too.

"How near is your base from here? Have you been there long?" asked Hermione.

"It's a few miles away, kinda in the middle of nowhere," said Matt. "We've been there a couple of months. Long enough to get a little bored."

"Oo, these carrots are good!" said a happy Ginny.

"Alf and Lottie grow them in their back yard," Joe said.

"Really?" asked Hermione.

"Yeah, we helped them dig over their vegetable patch a couple of weeks ago," said Joe.

"Do you get a lot of leave, then?" Hermione asked.

"A couple of days here and there, sometimes a half-day. We don't always have much time, so coming to the village is better than nothing. A change of scenery, and those two are good folks. It's nice to help out and do something different," said Matt.

Alf had come over and asked if they wanted something to drink with their meal. Matt and Joe opted for a Real Ale, and Hermione said she and Ginny would have a shandy. She wasn't sure Ginny had ever had a shandy before, but it shouldn't make either of them tipsy, as the beer was diluted with lemonade and wartime beer was always talked of as diluted anyway, so it should be safe. It would be refreshing too.

"You must miss home?" Ginny asked the two men.

"All the time!" said Joe. "But, everyone has been friendly here, so that helps," he said, actually giving Ginny a little wink, which made her look away quickly, feeling like a silly schoolgirl. Although she still _was_ a schoolgirl, technically, she felt a long way past acting like one...that was until Joe winked at her.

"How did you get into the village? Did you walk?" asked Hermione.

"Sometimes we walk, but not today. One of the boys was coming this way in the jeep and we caught a ride with him. He'll pick us up on the way back," Matt told her.

They all seemed to enjoy the cooking of The White Hart, and Hermione suspected that some of the nice flavour was down to the local American soldiers bringing in items, like she had seen them do today.

"I hope you don't mind me asking...," started Hermione, but she was cut off from continuing the sentence straight away.

"Ask away darlin'," said Matt, nearly making Hermione choke.

Regaining her composure she said, "I just wondered what you gave to Alf? It's none of my business really."

"That? Oh we always bring in some things when we stop by. Mostly canned fruits, sometimes some spices, baking ingredients, stuff like that. You folks don't seem to be able to get hold of much," Matt lowered his voice and leaned forward so they could hear, but no one else could. "And yet, we're overflowing with supplies at the base. Anyway, we bring a few things in, and we get free meals, a free beer, that kind of thing."

"That explains the lack of blandness in the meal, then?" said Hermione, rather pleased with herself for having worked out the slight mystery. "I was expecting no flavour and chewy fish!"

The two Americans laughed at that. Hermione didn't think she had been that funny, but maybe to those two, she had been.

They had finished the rest of their meal talking about mundane things, from the difference in weather between each others homelands, to the long journey the Americans made to get to Britain and their first impressions of it, to what jobs they had before they were in the army. They finished their drinks and the two girls were thinking of moving, maybe to take a walk to look at the signpost they were interested in.

"How long are you two girls staying here?" asked Joe.

"Probably not longer than one night," said Hermione.

"Now, that's a crying shame," said Joe, who was still trying to make eye contact with Ginny, and seemingly amused by his ability to make her slightly shy and nervous every time he succeeded.

"I was hoping we'd be seeing you regularly?" said Joe.

"Yeah, it would have been real nice to get to know you better," said Matt, smiling directly at Hermione, who felt a little abashed herself now.

"Sadly, there's a war on, and we're in it," said Hermione, while thinking, _We're actually in two wars, one here and one fifty-five years in the future._

"Do you have plans for the next couple of hours, girls?" asked Matt.

"No," said Ginny, before Hermione could answer.

"Would you like to take a walk around the village with us?" asked Matt, hopefully.

Ginny looked at Hermione, and Hermione looked back at her. If they were out together then it was relatively safe, and besides if they said 'no', they wouldn't be able to look around the village without bumping into them; taking a walk with the two American servicemen didn't risk anything with timelines, providing all they did was walk and talk and keep the talk to safe subjects.

"All right," said Hermione, which actually surprised Ginny a little. She looked out of a window and saw that it was still dull and a bit windy. "Give us a few minutes, we need to get our coats."

"Great," said Matt. "You let us pay for your lunch and we'll wait for you down here."

"You don't have to pay for our meal," protested Hermione.

"We want to and we will," said Matt. "Besides we haven't had such good company for a long time. Take it as a thank you."

Hermione nodded her thanks and made her way, with Ginny, to the stairs. They walked into their room and Ginny shut the door behind her then leaned heavily against it, letting out a deep breath.

"That was nervy!" said Ginny.

"Tell me about it...Ginoan!" said Hermione, with a grin.

"They're nice blokes."

"Oooo-oooo," cooed Hermione, as she opened her beaded bag and pulled out their two greatcoats.

"I saw Matt making googly eyes at you," said Ginny. "And I saw you blush, so you can shut up!"

"I was being polite, but they kept taking me by surprise," said Hermione, a tad flustered.

"You say 'please' and 'thank you' to be polite, not blush at people," said Ginny, really entertained by making her friend squirm.

"At least I can look at them, you just keep batting your eyelids and looking away," Hermione hit back.

The two young women looked at each other in silence for a moment and then started laughing, before stopping again, nearly as suddenly. A long silence ensued, where they both stared at the floor, before making eye contact again.

"For a moment we forgot," said Hermione. "We were just two young women having a bit of fun. Not worrying about death and being on secretive quests and dangerous missions, however guarded our words have been."

"I know," said Ginny, looking very solemn. "It felt nice."

"Well, perhaps that's even more reason to enjoy this afternoon with them," said Hermione. "It will do us good, before we have to go deeper into our..._business_ here."

"They seem all right, don't they? I still think it's a good idea to stay together though," said Ginny.

"Yes, they seem genuine enough," Hermione smiled then, remembering something else her grandmother said, before she let out a giggle.

"What's funny?" asked Ginny, bewildered at the strange grin Hermione was wearing and the escaped giggle.

"I just remembered something else my Grandma said about American servicemen," Hermione said laughing, before finally saying. "She said you were safe with them as long as you kept your legs closed and your knickers pulled up!"

Ginny's eyes went wide, before she started laughing too. "I'll keep that in mind," said the redhead.

Putting on their greatcoats, they made their way down the stairs to meet up with Matt and Joe again in the bar.

"You ready, girls?" asked Joe.

Hermione and Ginny nodded and the four of them walked out of the door to stand on the main street.

"This is a little strange," Hermione said. "But you two probably know the village better than us?"

"Hey, you're right," Matt said. "What do you wanna see first?"

"How about we look at the church?" said Hermione, hoping to get a look at the signpost near there.

"Sure," Matt answered. "We'll start down that end and work our way through."

Matt held out an arm for Hermione, which made her feel awkward and was again something that took her by surprise. Hermione was aware that Ginny was looking at her, wondering about the situation too.

"It won't bite," said Matt, with a smile, "I won't either," he said proffering his arm a bit more.

Hermione just stopped herself from taking an obvious deep breath, and thought, _Oh for Merlin's sake, it's not a marriage proposal, it's just holding an arm...I had just better never mention it to Ron_. She took Matt's arm, giving a small smile, more at herself and the completely bizarre situation she was in, than actually for the handsome man she was going to walk around the village with.

Joe held out his arm to Ginny, who having seen Hermione's decision, copied her and took hold of the proffered arm. It all felt disturbingly old fashioned and more surreal than ever.

The four of them crossed the main street to the church, and as they walked the path alongside the church wall to get to the lychgate, Hermione tried to look at the signpost. As they were about to turn into the gate and walk onto the church path she was able to read it. 'Little Hangleton 6 Miles'. There it was, the signpost told them the exact direction and the rough mileage.

"What are you looking at?" asked Matt, bringing Hermione back to the present. For a moment she had almost forgotten she was walking arm in arm with an American soldier.

"I just wondered what that signpost said?" answered Hermione.

"Just says where Little Hangleton is," Matt told her.

"Have you been there?" Hermione asked, interested, as they began to walk up the church path; Ginny and Joe walking behind them, with Ginny straining to hear what the two in front were saying, while making sure she heard what Joe said to her.

"Yeah, but it's tiny, nothing there except a pub," Matt said. "There's a church too, but it's smaller than this one." They walked around the side of the Great Hangleton church building, taking in the well tended graves and grass, with only a couple of corners left for shrubs or brambles, and approached the porch. "Do you wanna go have a look inside?"

"Yes, that would be interesting," said Hermione, hoping that it would take up time, more than anything.

Unlike most village churches in their own time, this church's door was unlocked and people could come and go. Sadly the world brought too many vandals and thieves to keep churches unlocked in the 1990s.

Inside, the church had a typical medieval layout, with the nave and its central aisle, a chancel, and a magnificent stained glass window in the east end window above the altar.

The four of them walked up the aisle, which felt extremely odd to Hermione, with her mind wandering back to Ron, and she felt bad that she was still glad he wasn't here; it was mostly for the same reasons as before, that he would have been difficult to work with on the whole plan, but a tiny part of her was enjoying talking to someone else, someone not connected to Hogwarts and Horcruxes.

Ginny wanted to laugh as she glanced at Joe, thinking to herself, _I only just met this bloke and I'm already walking up the aisle with him!_

As they reached the transcept, between the nave and chancel, there was a table to the side with lots of candles and a book. Hermione went to look at it and realized that the handful of names written down were village residents who had been killed in the current war, or requests for prayers for the men of the village away at all corners of the world, fighting. One of the deaths was to a man, more a boy in truth, aged nineteen, killed in 1942. It was very sobering reading. _Death,_ she thought, _here or back there in my own time, death; so many young lives snuffed out and families left devastated. _

"You okay?" asked Matt, seeing Hermione's face change to a serious expression.

"Hmm? Yes, I'm fine. It's just..." she pointed to the book.

"Yeah, it's not nice reading, but hopefully, one day soon, we'll make it all worth it. Those poor guys sacrifices will never be forgotten. Ain't that right Joe?"

"Yeah," said Joe. "I never like to read those type of books. I can guess what it says. This war can't go on forever. Our commanders would like to think it will be over by Christmas with us joining the Allies...but, that's what everyone kept saying about the last war. They'd like to think the US joining the war will make Hitler run away crying, but I think it will take more than that. Don't tell anyone I said that, though. We're going to see it through to the end, I know that much, and it _will_ be worth it."

Hermione could only smile; she badly wanted to say something, but knew she couldn't; because she knew exactly when the war, in fact, both the wars with Germany and Japan would end. Unfortunately it wouldn't be tomorrow. Joe had reminded her of the initial American view, that they thought it would be over in weeks once they joined the fray, but as in all wars it took a lot longer than anyone thought. _So many more lives to be lost before the end, maybe even Matt and Joe's..., _she thought gloomily.

The four of them wandered around the church, looking at some of the older items, and they all stopped to look at the font. It had a lovely carved stone base and an ornate wooden canopy lid. Ginny and Hermione looked at the stone carvings, around the base, reaching out with their hands to touch the animals and vines and people...except all the carved people were missing their heads.

"What happened to the heads?" asked Joe. "I've been here twice before, but never noticed that."

"It could have happened during a couple of periods in history," said Hermione, remembering some knowledge she had deep in her mind about the subject.

Joe looked at Ginny and raised an eyebrow. "She knows lots about everything," said Ginny, in explanation. "I've learned just to go with it." That made Joe and Matt laugh.

"So, _professor_, what happened to the heads?" Matt asked, this time.

Hermione blushed, partly from embarrassment, and partly from being a little flustered and put on the spot. "It might have happened in the Reformation around the 1530s and 40s, when King Henry VIII created the Church of England and things like statues and paintings of saints in churches were destroyed as idolatry, if not then, it might have happened in the English Civil War and in Cromwell's Commonwealth that followed in the mid 1600s, when lots of church things were vandalized. Sometimes they used the bits they knocked off statues to break the windows."

"I'm impressed," said Matt.

"I've always loved history," Hermione said, shrugging her shoulders as if she didn't think it was that impressive really.

Before leaving the church again, they saw some leaflets on a table at the back and there was a visitors' book, for people to sign.

"Hey Joe, we have to sign the book this time," said Matt, producing a pencil from a pocket.

The two men signed their names, and where they came from, underneath the names of some people visiting from Halifax and some from Manchester earlier in the month.

"Girls, why don't you sign too?" asked Matt. "Then this place will always have a record of the day we had a fun lunch together."

Hermione looked at Ginny and almost rolled her eyes, but they walked forward and looked at the book. Hermione was a little worried about leaving a trace of their existence here, even though it would be their fake identities. Her analogy to Ginny when they first arrived in 1943, about walking through the snow and leaving no footprints came to mind. However, to refuse to sign would be a little more awkward; there couldn't be much harm from it really.

The brunette signed her name first, 'Helen Summers, from Devon', and she gave Ginny a deliberate look to try and silently remind her not to sign 'Ginny'. The redhead understood and seeing the name 'Helen' on the line above in the book made it easier to not get caught out, and she signed 'Joan Townsend, from Devon'.

Ginny handed the pencil back to Matt, but Joe took it from him, smiling and leaned over the book again, adding to his entry, 'Having an awesome time with England's best two WAAFs."

The girls looked to see what he had written, and while not completely happy that their current identites were exposed further to the world, they were amused by the added entry.

In the hour and a bit they had left with the American soldiers, they had walked down the street to the other end of the village, still arm in arm. They looked in at a small village stores, which seemed to be as depleted of stocks as the one in Godric's Hollow.

They talked of all kinds of things again, including the trouble the Americans had with driving on the other side of the road. "It's not the wrong side," said Hermione, chuckling. "It's the correct side to us. _You_ drive on the wrong side."

As they were nearing The White Hart again, having completed a circuit of the main village, an army jeep drove up the road, and seeing Matt and Joe with the two young women, the driver pipped the horn in greeting.

"There's our ride back," said Joe. "Time flies, when you're having fun."

"If you ever happen to spend longer here, or come back," said Matt. "Ask for us, try and look us up."

"Oh, you'll have moved onto the next young women you see by then," said Hermione.

"You never know," said Matt. "It would still be nice to see you again."

"Hey O'Driscoll, Riccardi, move your ass!" shouted the driver of the jeep to the men.

"Why is he asking you to move your donkey?" asked Ginny, very entertained.

Joe and Matt looked at each other as if Ginny had lost her mind. Hermione snorted with laughter and so did Ginny. "We say 'arse' here!" the redhead told them.

"See? Now you're making fun of us!" said Joe, grinning. "We come all this way to help you and we're told we drive on the wrong side of the road and say things wrong."

"It's been a real pleasure girls," said Matt. The black-haired man made to get into the jeep and at the last moment, he nudged Joe and then said. "We'd better leave you with one more thing to complain about." With that Matt quickly moved in and pecked a kiss on Hermione's lips, before he did a little salute and hopped into the passenger seat of the jeep. Joe had done the same thing to Ginny, after seeing what his friend's plan had been and then got into the back of the jeep.

Hermione and Ginny were literally gobsmacked. The older girl didn't know whether to blush, be angry or laugh out loud. Ginny's ears had gone bright red.

The jeep revved a little and was moving off, and the two soldiers were still waving at them as they disappeared from view at the end of the street.

Ginny had absent-mindedly put a hand to her lips, as if she could still feel Joe's lips there, and she wore a rather gawky expression.

"What the bloody hell happened there?" Hermione said, looking at Ginny and realizing that she herself had nearly put a hand to her lips, like some flirtatious bimbo.

The redhead kind of shook her head and came back to the present, remembering where she was, and quickly lowered her hand. "I don't know," she said. "I don't think that was part of the plan, do you?"

"No, I don't remember Dumbledore saying, befriend two Yanks and get them to kiss you, either," said Hermione in reply. "However, we've made progress."

"We _have_?" asked Ginny, wondering exactly what kind of progress her friend was talking about.

"We know where Little Hangleton is and that it's about six miles from here, in that direction," replied Hermione, pointing past the church in the direction the sign was pointing.

"I can hardly wait!" said Ginny, with a huge element of sarcasm as they turned and went back to the door of The White Hart.

**A/N: I chose those particular 'home towns' for Matt and Joe, from some of my family tree research; I had ancestors emigrate to those places in the 19th Century. **

**It might be obvious that I have an interest in old churches(I love old ruined monasteries and abbeys too). They are the main subject I paint pictures of and I love the quirky architecture, history and setting of each church. It's all made a little odd by the fact I take an almost anti-religion stance and am more of a pagan myself...and in fact that might make me more objective of the buildings in some ways. I have always viewed churches like castles...the difference being that churches mark the births, marriages and deaths of the ordinary people, where as castles are usually connected to lords and ladies. **


	18. Night Horrors

**A/N: This chapter has a couple of 'ew' moments. :)**

**I still hope I'm not going too slow for everyone. These actions are only mere days since the girls got to 1943 and for the things that follow it would seem far too fast for A + B = C to happen in a few chapters, although the pace picks up here and there as things **_**do**_** happen. **

**At the time of writing this A/N I've just started writing chapter 51, and it's all still working at this similar pace. This will be a personal journey as well as physical, and it would be unrealistic to suddenly go from A to B. So I think the word is 'Patience' and I hope you will feel rewarded for it eventually. And yes it's still the intention for HG/GW...but they can't ****suddenly**** go from loving Harry and Ron to liking each other...it's a process. :) **_**Patience. **_**:)**

18: Night Horrors

The two witches walked back into The White Hart, and saw Alf and Lottie behind the bar.

"Did you enjoy your afternoon?" asked Lottie, smiling.

"Yes, it was nice," said Ginny, keeping things simple.

"They're good boys, those two," Alf said. "Mind you, young girls like you still have to be careful, but you'd have no trouble from Matt and Joe."

Hermione was beginning to think that Alf and Lottie were almost suggesting they should stay and go out with the two Americans, and if they did, they would fully support it, despite Lottie's almost severe rules about 'shenanigans'.

"Well, we have to leave tomorrow morning and move on," said Hermione. "But it was nice to chat with them, and spend a couple of hours thinking of other things."

"Aye," said Alf. "We all need to take a little time out and think of something else, rather than this blooming war. I imagine wherever those two lads are going to be sent to eventually will be unpleasant, poor sods."

Ginny thought of the war raging back at Hogwarts and imagined that this muggle war would be just as nasty and dangerous. Hermione, having seen so many documentaries and read so many books in her time, knew exactly the kind of thing Matt and Joe would have to face in the future.

"I don't know about you," Hermione said to Ginny. "But I think I could do with a lie down."

The red-haired young woman nodded in agreement. Although both would admit they had had a nice time with the soldiers, it had been tiring, keeping themselves a little guarded, if only in their subconscious.

"Would you like anything to take up with you?" asked Lottie. "Cup of tea? Anything?"

"No, thank you," said Hermione. It occurred to her that the landlady was acting much friendlier than earlier, and she suspected it was because they had been nice to the two Americans, of whom Alf and Lottie obviously held a lot of affection for. Seeing their 'boys' laugh and be happy and all in a very respectful way, with neither Ginny nor herself flirting or throwing themselves at the men, made Lottie believe that the WAAFs under their roof were decent people.

"If you'd like some dinner it will be around six o'clock," said Lottie.

Hermione gave her thanks and she and Ginny made their way to the stairs. On reaching their room they took off their greatcoats, which they hung on a hook near the door. Hermione sat down on the bed with a thump and stretched out, closing her eyes, genuinely feeling tired.

"We leave tomorrow morning, then?" asked Ginny, as she sat on the bed, stretching her legs out, but staying in a sitting position.

"It doesn't have to be really early, but we have six miles to walk," said Hermione.

"It would be good if we got to that Hanged Man pub, and were able to do a bit of scouting around for the Gaunt place in the afternoon, wouldn't it?" suggested Ginny.

"Yeah, it would be good to make a start, a real start," said Hermione. "I know we've got to here, but I still feel like this whole thing hasn't begun properly yet."

They spent the remainder of the afternoon, resting and talking, with the conversation occasionally wandering back to Matt and Joe. Hermione brought out one of their flasks and they had some tea, and a couple of shortbread biscuits, even though they had devoured several on the train to Halifax.

At around six o'clock the two girls went downstairs for dinner. There wasn't anyone else in the pub and Lottie came through from the kitchen to see them. There wasn't much choice with the dinner, but neither Hermione nor Ginny complained with the home-cooked toad-in-the-hole with mashed swede and mashed potato, all washed down with a shandy.

Hermione wasn't too keen on staying in the bar area of the pub for the evening once the villagers came in, mostly because she didn't want to draw attention, remembering Matt saying they hadn't seen many WAAFs here before. Another reason Hermione didn't want to stay around the bar, was because of the inevitable cloud of cigarette smoke which would soon form in the room. She explained it to Ginny and the redhead was in full agreement, not liking tobacco smoke any better herself.

They stayed in their room and brought out some of the books from Hermione's bag again. Ginny was looking at the Tales of Beedle the Bard once more.

"Are you looking for anything in particular in that book?" asked Hermione

"I'm just going over that Three Brothers story again," answered Ginny. "I'm still trying to see if I can find any clue to the reason we're being sent to get the Stone."

"I know, it's strange isn't it?"

Once more they discussed the hope that they would be told in the end and why they had to get the Stone, and still coming up with nothing of their own for a reason. Hermione told Ginny all about the things Xenophilius Lovegood had told them when Harry, Ron and herself had visited The Quibbler editor, so that the redhead had all the information that Hermione herself had.

"In a way," Hermione began. "We have to be a bit like Matt and Joe."

"How?" asked a confused Ginny.

"They follow orders, that's what soldiers do," Hermione said. "Yet, they don't always know where they're going or what they're doing or why. But they follow their commanders because not only do they have to, but deep down they _do_ trust them too."

"I see what you mean," said Ginny. "We have to trust Dumbledore, McGonagall and the reasons for why we're here. I just hate feeling like I'm half blind."

The evening went by, and up on the top floor, they could only hear the faintest sounds of the people in the pub below. There was the occasional clink of glasses, being set onto tables, or being washed up. Sometimes an odd laugh could be heard, replaced again by a distant murmur of general chatter.

"I'm going to turn in for the night," Hermione said to Ginny, as she closed a book. It was approaching 9.30pm.

"We have a lot planned tomorrow, so I'll do the same," said the redhead.

Hermione had a quick look in her bag as she put back the books. There was unlikely to be a problem with air raids in this village and the American base was a few miles away and not right next to it, and therefore anything aimed at the base, shouldn't affect things here. So with that knowledge in mind, Hermione took out T'Shirts and bottoms for them to sleep in.

After going across to the bathroom for a quick wash and brushing their teeth, Ginny and Hermione made sure the chain was on the door and then slipped under the covers of the very comfortable bed. It was much better than the previous night, which was spent almost balanced on a single bed. They left a lamp on a low light, having been so used to not sleeping in the complete dark recently and not _wanting_ to be in the dark either.

"What time should we get up?" asked Ginny.

"You seem to wake before me, so whenever you get up will be fine," said Hermione, plumping her pillow and nestling her head onto it.

"Okay," said Ginny. "Night, then."

"Night."

Both young women were asleep in minutes and to begin with, neither of them dreamed. They hadn't spoken of the possibility of dreams again, as both were hoping they would have the ordinary silly ones that anyone else would have, not wanting to voice the hope that the more weird and disturbing ones kept away. As with so many other things in life, what a person hoped and wanted were not always what they ended up with.

Ginny was dreaming of being in the garden at the Burrow..._zzzzzzz_

The sun was shining and she felt happy about that; her mother was bustling around in the kitchen, seemingly flustered, however.

"Ginny, dear, come and help me for a minute, would you?" Molly Weasley's voice called to her daughter. "There's so much to do and so little time to do it!"

"All right, Mum," said Ginny, walking to the open kitchen door.

There was a huge long table which stretched the length of the kitchen. Ginny was so bewildered by it, not recognizing the table, that she walked alongside the length of it. She was still walking along it and didn't find the end of it until she was nearly at the far end of the living room.

"Mum?" she called. "What's this table doing here?"

"What do you mean?" Mrs. Weasley asked, having flapped her way through to where her daughter stood. "Don't be silly dear, I don't have time for sillyness."

"It's so big!"

"How else were we going to fit the guests in?" said Mrs. Weasley as she turned and went back in the direction of the kitchen.

Ginny followed her mother. "Guests? What guests?"

"Ginny!" her mother pointed a finger at her. "I don't have time for games. If you won't help me, then at least...Oh Merlin's beard, you're not ready!"

The scene blurred or jumped and Ginny walked into her bedroom, and she noticed Hermione there and oddly Fleur. It was then she saw that both were wearing beautiful dresses, the kind which would have made the Yule Ball outfits from their Triwizard Tournament year at Hogwarts, look dull. Ginny looked at herself and saw she was wearing a pair of jeans and a faded green rugby shirt.

"Why are you dressed like that?" Ginny asked the other two women.

Hermione spun in surprise. "Ginny!"

"Mon Dieu!" said Fleur, looking at Ginny.

"You're not ready?" Hermione said, in high-pitched tone.

"Ready for what?" Ginny asked. "What's happening today?"

Hermione looked at her, then looked at Fleur, who shrugged her shoulders. Then Hermione started laughing. "Hahahaha! Ginny! Very funny!"

"What is?" asked Ginny.

Fleur came up to her and put the back of her hand to the redhead's forehead, looked into her eyes as if looking for illness. Ginny batted away the Frenchwoman's hands.

"Come on, let's stop fooling around, we need to get you ready," said Hermione.

"Ready? What for? What the hell is going on?"

The scene blurred before Ginny heard an answer, which made her feel angry. The next thing she saw, was the inside of the church at Great Hangleton, except the church had people sitting in the pews. A lot turned around to look at her, which made her feel out of place and thinking she had encroached on a private service or something, she turned to walk back out and bumped into Hermione and Fleur, both of them still wearing the stunning dresses.

"Ginny?" whispered Hermione. "Where are you going?"

"Outside," she answered. "I don't think we should be here."

"The time for joking is over, stop messing around," said Fleur. "Oh my! You're dropping petals!"

"Dropping petals?" Ginny said. The Frenchwoman was in front of her moving something she hadn't realized she was holding. She looked down and saw she was holding a bouquet of flowers, but what was more disturbing was the fact she saw she was wearing a white dress, which touched the floor and hid her feet. "What?" Ginny said.

"Are you ready, love?" said Mr. Weasley, appearing from nowhere and taking her arm, as he stood beside her.

"Who the bloody hell am I marrying?" Ginny exclaimed, but no one answered.

Some organ music started up and suddenly she was being almost dragged down the aisle by her father. _Why am I getting married in this muggle church, anyway?_ Lots of faces looked at her from the pews. When she got to the end of the aisle in front of a vicar, a man stepped to her side. It was Joe O'Driscoll.

_Okay_, thought Ginny, as she dreamed, _I get it now. _She was relieved that it was just the events of the day getting muddled up_._

Ginny half expected to see Matt as Joe's best man, but instead it was Harry. He was turned away from her.

"Harry?" she said, to get his attention. When he finally did turn, she wished he hadn't.

The Harry that faced her was horrible to behold, even though he was wearing smart black robes. The skin of his face was a grey-green, and an area on the side of his face and jawline had decomposed, to show dead flesh and the hint of bone beneath. His eyes were cloudy and runny, outlined by red-purple eyelids and sunken skin where bags might have been and his lips were cracked, with almost fissures, also red-purple in colour. He stared at her, as if looking through her.

The rest of the sounds in the church went silent, but it wasn't because the ceremony was about to start. Ginny could see people behind Harry on that side of the church still talking to each other, it seemed the silence was just in the place she stood.

"How are you, Ginny?" asked the rotting version of Harry, in a raspy voice and with a hard tone.

"I...I...," she couldn't answer him.

"What's the matter? Aren't you pleased to see me?" he asked.

"You...but...,"

"You thought I was out of the way didn't you? It didn't take long for you to move on, did it?" said Harry, making that last part a verbal slap. "Did you think of me when you cavorted with this man?" Harry asked, nodding to Joe, who seemed oblivious to Ginny and Harry talking next to him. "Did you give me any thought at all?"

"You...you're dead," was all Ginny could manage to say.

"How convenient for you," said Harry, still looking through her with his cloudy eyes. "Although, I thought you would have had more taste and not shagged the first thing you set eyes on!"

"I haven't shagged anyone!"

"I'm supposed to believe that? The way you've carried on?" Harry said with anger, a small amount of spittle dribbling from his mouth. "I was hardly cold before you moved on to him!"

"Harry, what are you saying? I haven't moved on to him, I only met him today for a couple of hours! Nothing happened!" Ginny said, unable to stop the tears. "I loved you."

"Yes, _loved_," said Harry. "Easy to say that, now I'm dead. What is love? Words? You never loved me, not really."

"How can you say that?" Ginny sobbed.

"It's the truth," said Harry. "You were a little girl with a crush, a notion of love. I couldn't give you everything that you needed, and for that I'm at fault, but you forgot me, you left me, you left everyone!"

"I know," Ginny said, distraught. "I know what I've done. I'm doing the only thing I _can_ do. I can't weep at your body's side, I have to make your death mean something."

"How heroic," said Harry, sarcastically.

"I couldn't let Hermione go alone! I realize that even more with every day," said Ginny. "I made the right decision."

"Did you? It remains to be seen if you make the right decisions in the future," said Harry in a cryptic way.

"Why are you tormenting me? You were never cruel, Harry, never?"

"_Tormenting?_ Do you know what it's like to go to your death, knowing you _are_ going to your death? No you wouldn't," Harry said. "You have no idea what it feels like to die and leave everyone and everything you ever cared for, knowing you'll never be a proper part of their lives anymore, never loving, never touching and being forgotten as a foot note on a page. Yes, you left your family, but you can get back to them, I can't."

Ginny couldn't think of anything to say in reply, what _could_ she say to that?

"To touch one more time...," said Harry.

To Ginny's horror Harry had reached forward and grasped her arm. The hand that held her was the same grey-green as Harry's face, and the fingernails were longer and looked almost wooden. It made her feel sick; she tried to get away, but his grip was vice-like. Then Harry pulled her closer and was about to kiss her, his face nearing hers, so she saw a closer view of the decomposing flesh of his jawline and was repulsed to see maggots crawling in and out of the broken skin, as the cracked lips tried to connect with hers; she cried out...

"No! NOOO!"

Just before the dead Harry's lips could meet hers, arms pulled her back away from him. She thought it must be Joe, but the American was nowhere to be seen. Harry looked at her, his arm stretched out in her direction still, and his rotting face almost wearing a smile now, and then the scene blurred to black.

"Harry," she whispered..._zzzzzzz_

Ginny awoke with a huge jolt, she didn't open her eyes, but felt her stomach lurch. Oddly, she could still feel someone clinging onto her and thought she must be dreaming still. Opening her eyes, and looking down to where she felt pressure, she saw a slender arm and hand hugging her tight. The redhead couldn't help a small flinch in response, before remembering Hermione was with her.

"Oh god!" Ginny groaned, putting a hand up to rub her eyes, and feeling wet cheeks as the dream gnawed at her straight away.

"Hey," said Hermione in a quiet voice. "You're safe. We're still at The White Hart."

It took Ginny a couple of moments to process that information. "I've done it again, haven't I?" Ginny asked in a depressed voice. "Had a stupid damn dream and woken you up." She turned over to face Hermione, who wiped a stray tear from Ginny's jaw. "I'm sorry."

"It's not your fault," said Hermione. "We've both had bad dreams lately. Do you want to talk about this one?"

"I'm not sure how to begin," said Ginny sighing, thinking of a way to tell her friend about what she saw, as the vision of the Harry she had just dreamed of, loomed in front of her. "It made me feel...fe...," she suddenly got out of bed and ran to the door, clumsily fiddling the chain and ran across to the bathroom.

Hermione followed her nearly as quickly, and was in the bathroom just as Ginny was vomiting into the toilet. Not being the squeamish type, she went to her friend and put an arm around her shoulders, pushing her hair back out of the way, and when Ginny had finished, she got a cloth, ran it under the cold tap and wiped her friend's face.

"Sorry," said Ginny, breathing heavily. "I don't know what happened."

"Do you think you need to be sick again?"

"No, I'm done," said Ginny, confidently.

"Right, let's get you back to bed," said Hermione leading her friend back across to their room, and making sure she got back into bed.

Hermione looked under the bed for a moment and found what she hoped was there, a chamberpot. She put it on the little table next to Ginny's side of the bed. "Just in case," she said smiling. Before she walked around the bed and got back in herself, she poured out a glass of water and got Ginny to take a couple of sips.

"I'm sorry about all of this," said Ginny, annoyed with herself. "I hardly ever throw up!"

"Don't worry about it," said Hermione. "You can't help it."

"That dream...it was horrible in every way," said Ginny in small voice. "I saw Harry, and talked with him."

"Was he nasty to you or something?"

"Sort of, but he was also dead."

"Dead? Do you mean you saw him die again?" asked Hermione.

"No, he was dead, but talking to me. His face...it was...rotting," Ginny said, almost shivering with remembrance.

"Oh my god, that must have been awful!" said Hermione, shocked, wondering what her own reaction would have been to seeing that.

"Yeah, it was bad. The whole dream was stupid in the beginning, I was supposed to be marrying Joe," said Ginny, and seeing Hermione's eyes widen, she smiled. "Crazy eh? Anyway you and Fleur were my bridesmaids." This made them both laugh despite the situation. "Harry was standing next to Joe like his best man or something. Then it went silent and only he and I could talk to each other. He was accusing me of never loving him, of not thinking of him, of leaving him, taking no time in finding my next boyfriend and all that kind of thing. Then he grabbed my arm and tried to kiss me...urgh...it was...,"

"I can't imagine how horrible this was for you," said Hermione, getting hold of one of Ginny's hands.

"Just as he was about to connect with me, arms pulled me away from him and then I woke up."

"You were struggling in your sleep," said Hermione. I was afraid you were going to hurt yourself or clonk me one too. So I got hold of you."

"I'm glad you did," said Ginny, feeling embarrassed. "I know it was just a dream, but I don't think I'd want to remember kissing a dead Harry. I mean, I know I _did_ kiss him when...you know, we went to him after Hagrid brought him out, but he wasn't rotting or talking at me while he was dead then."

"I _do_ understand why you threw up," said Hermione. "It's nothing to be ashamed of. Our dreams have been pretty volatile with subject matter lately. It was just your body reacting and saying 'woah, had enough'."

"Did you get any sleep before I woke you?" asked Ginny, sheepishly.

"A little," Hermione said. "No dreams thankfully. None I can remember anyway."

"I'm not sure I want to go back to sleep again. I can't bear the thought of going back to a similar dream."

"You'll be so tired for tomorrow, Gin," said Hermione. "You have to try and get some rest. I'm still here with you, you're not alone." Hermione put an arm around her friend.

"I know," replied Ginny. "I'm just so tired of these nightmares."

"After your bad dream, that first night at Godric's Hollow, you slept all right afterwards, didn't you?" asked Hermione.

"Yes, I did."

"Okay. Well, how about we snuggle up together and I have an arm around you?" said Hermione, slightly embarrassed. "That way you know you're not alone and you're safe, and so will I be."

"It makes me feel such a whimp," said a disheartened Ginny.

"Then I'm a whimp too," said Hermione with a smile. "Does it matter? It seems to work, and after your traumatic night, it's worth a try a least."

Ginny nodded her agreement, and Hermione laid back, and opened her arm for Ginny to lay up next to her, before wrapping that arm around her friend. The redhead let out a small laugh from her own embarrassment, but immediately she felt more grounded and less vulnerable. She decided to rest her head on Hermione's chest and shoulder as she had done before.

"You're okay with my lump of a head on you?" Ginny asked.

"Yeah, it's fine. As long as you don't puke all over me!" Hermione said, with a laugh.

"I'll try not to," said Ginny, as she got comfortable, resting an arm across Hermione's waist.

A more restful sleep came to Ginny, and with it no disturbing dreams. When a hint of a dream began to form she felt fearful that it would lead to another traumatic experience, but it didn't. She dreamed of going into Honeydukes in Hogsmeade with a huge basket and taking one of everything from each jar and box in the shop. It greatly amused her and it made her wish she could do that for real.


	19. Moving Onwards

**A/N: A little bit of poor health is slowing my updates, but I'm still working on the story and will try to update when I can. I hope to get back to multi-tasking in the future. I have to be patient with myself now! :)**

**This is a little thoughtful chapter, with not much action, but I enjoyed writing it.**

19: Moving Onwards

As comfortable as Hermione and Ginny were to drift off to sleep and the improvement in Ginny's dreams, Hermione didn't escape dreams altogether either..._zzzzzzz_

Hermione found herself walking along a small lane, trees and hedges lining each side of the road, with open fields and hills for miles around. She kept walking and would find a signpost every so often, which would state nothing other than the mileage to go, which seemed to fluctuate. Where her destination was, she wasn't completely sure; in her mind she thought it was probably a dream about getting to Little Hangleton and assumed that's where the dream would take her.

After walking past several more signposts there was still no village in sight; not in front of her, behind or to the sides. She began to feel a small panic that she was lost. _Great, it's one of those dreams where you get lost and can never get to where you need to go,_ she thought as she was dreaming.

Following several more steps, up ahead, she thought she could see a crossroads and someone sitting on a bench there. As she approached, her heart lifted when she saw it was Ron. Running the last few steps, she called to him, but he looked up at her with a distinct lack of interest.

"Ron?" she said. "What are you doing here?"

"What are _you_ doing here?" he asked.

Not knowing whether he meant the actual place they were as they spoke, or the likelihood she was in the area of the villages of Great and Little Hangleton, she wasn't sure what to answer.

"See? You can't even tell me that, can you?" said Ron.

"You didn't give me time to answer," said Hermione. "I'm not sure why I'm here on this very spot, but other than that I'm 'here' in the general sense to do something for Dumbledore and McGonagall."

"Dumbledore?" Ron exclaimed. "He's dead!"

"Yes and no. I can't tell you everything."

"That's something new," said the red-haired man grumpily and full of sarcasm.

"Ron, why are you here?" said Hermione.

"I was looking for you."

"How?"

"I followed you."

"That's not possible," Hermione said, unsure how Ron could time-travel, as she was sure there was only one Time-Turner.

"You don't think I'm capable, do you?" he said, angrily.

"It's not that," she answered. "I just don't know how you did it." _It's a dream_, she kept trying to think as she was dreaming it, _anything can happen in a dream._

"It doesn't matter," said Ron. "It was a wasted trip, anyway."

"Wasted? Finding me was a waste to you?" Hermione asked, feeling very upset.

"I saw you with that bloody muggle soldier-boy twerp," he spat.

"How?" was all Hermione could answer.

"I have eyes!"

"Ron, even if you really saw that, there was nothing going on."

Ron snorted with derision. "I saw you kiss him!"

"_He_ kissed me, not the other way around!" Hermione said, almost shouting now. "Besides, he took me by surprise and it was only a peck. He only did it for fun, nothing more!"

"So _you_ say!"

"Ron, I only saw him for a couple of hours, I'll likely never see him again, there's no need to be so angry about it."

"Angry? ANGRY?" Ron fumed. "You walked out on us without a word and dragged my sister along with you. Am I supposed to be happy? Then you're off with other men the first chance you get!"

"Firstly, I knew you'd try to stop me if I told you. What I'm doing I believe will help us defeat You Know Who. I did not _drag_ Ginny with me, she wanted to go. McGonagall and I said 'no' to begin with, but Ginny insisted and I let her come with me. She's been fantastic and I'm glad she's here. And I was not going off with men at the first chance!"

"Why didn't you take _me_?" Ron asked, sounding slightly desperate. "We've been together for weeks and months in dangerous situations. You should have taken _me_!"

Hermione didn't answer straight away, and in her mind as she was dreaming, she knew she was feeling guilty over the thoughts she'd been having about being pleased Ginny was with her and not Ron.

"You didn't want me, did you? DID YOU?" Ron shouted.

"Well, going by the way you're carrying on here, can you blame me?" she said, before she could stop her dream-self from saying the words.

"I can't believe this is happening," said Ron. "Just as we get together in some way, we're arguing more than ever."

"You're the one always starting the arguments, Ron!" Hermione said, sharply. "I can never discuss anything with you, before you take it the wrong way. In this place I need someone I can rely on, and that isn't you Ronald!"

_What am I saying?_ Hermione thought, upset. _Am I really thinking these things? Or is it just the dream-me thinking and saying this? Sodding dreams!_

"Fine!" Ron said. "You give me no option but to leave. I'm going Hermione!"

Ron rose from the bench and strangely Hermione noticed that he was suddenly wearing an RAF uniform. A serge blue uniform like the one that had been hanging in the wardrobe in Godric's Hollow with a leather and sheepskin flying jacket over the top.

The red-haired man looked at her one last time then walked away. She followed him with her eyes, as he walked into an adjacent field and up to a Lancaster bomber aircraft she hadn't seen there before. The propellers on the four engines started up and Ron disappeared up a small ladder on its undercarriage.

Hermione felt her feet glued to the spot. _Why don't I go after him? Is it because I don't want to? And what the hell is Ron doing in the RAF?_ In the dream she watched as the Lancaster rumbled along the grass and took off. _This is mostly muddled up nonsense, because we're both in wars,_ she thought. _But is it saying I'll never see him again? Or if I do, that I don't really want to see him? Or not as a boyfriend? _

"Ron," she whispered, unsure of the mixture of emotions she had. "You always make everything so awkward and difficult!"..._zzzzzzz_

When Hermione awoke, she wasn't sure what time it was, but it was lighter in the room; the lamp was off but the curtains had been opened a little. She looked around and saw that Ginny was sitting up in bed next to her reading; the redhead saw her wake up.

"Morning," said Ginny.

"Hi," replied Hermione, stretching a little, feeling stiff and achey. "Did you sleep anymore?"

"Yes, I was fine after...well, after I...," Ginny blushed.

"Snuggled?" asked Hermione, grinning.

"Yeah. How about you?"

"I slept." said the brunette. "Of course, I had a bloody stupid dream again, but I slept."

"I figured," said Ginny.

"Oh?"

"You were muttering in you sleep, and your heart was racing," Ginny said, and smiling a little abashed, she added. "I had my head close to the source."

"Sorry," said Hermione.

"Not your fault," said Ginny. "So...er...when you said 'stupid dream', what kind was it?"

Hermione shuffled her way up the bed so she was sitting too; she looked at her friend. "The kind where Ron and I were arguing...again...and he left..._again_, and some other stuff all muddled up."

"That's okay then," said Ginny, but then she saw Hermione's confused look. "No, I don't mean it was good that you argued, but at the time I thought you were having another type of dream and I didn't want to get in the way."

Hermione still looked at her, puzzled. "Get in the way?"

"Raised heartbeat, and muttering 'Ron' a lot," said Ginny, suppressing a giggle. "I didn't want to intrude in the middle of anything...or get...ah...caught up in it. If you get my meaning?" She added the last bit with a wink.

The brunette blushed profusely. "Oh! I see what you mean," she said. "I don't think I'll be having one of _those_ dreams in the near future. Not with Ron in them anyway...all we seem to do is argue in dreams at the moment."

A silence ensued, during which Hermione felt a tinge of anger at the dream version of Ron and suddenly had all the doubts from the dream nagging at her. It was peculiar, but after all that time of dancing around the issue before they finally kissed in real life, she suddenly felt that she didn't want to kiss him again...certainly not in the near future. Yes, it was a dream, but the dream-Ron had taken the stance that the real-Ron had done so many times. It annoyed her greatly.

"How's your stomach, Ginny?" Hermione asked her friend, trying to think of something else.

"It's all right," replied the redhead. "I was actually hungry when I woke up, so I had small piece of a steak pie, and everything seems fine."

Hermione smiled. "I'm glad to hear that. Have you been awake long?"

"About quarter of an hour. It's just gone eight o'clock."

"I think I'll get up," said Hermione. "Maybe I'll have something out of our stocks too."

The steak pie had sounded good when Ginny spoke of it, so Hermione had a piece of it and they had a cup of tea from a flask. Leaving a quarter of the flask full, Hermione added some cold water and dipped a teabag in it for a while, knowing that the heated tea left in the bottom would heat the additional liquid, without them needing to use magic. It was a nice discovery. _Bless those elves and Dumbledore for it_, she thought.

After taking turns to go across to the bathroom for a quick wash and freshen up, they were fully dressed back in their work uniforms again. They packed everything into the beaded bag, deciding to keep their greatcoats out to wear for their walk to Little Hangleton. Hermione hoped that the appearance and disappearance of their greatcoats had gone with little notice, because it would have been hard to describe how they kept them folded away so small and out of sight.

It was gone nine o'clock now and they could hear one or two people getting around in the village street outside. They slung their gas mask bags over their shoulders, and made their way downstairs. Lottie was behind the bar, stacking freshly cleaned glasses, from the night before.

"Morning, girls," said Lottie. "My goodness, you're all ready to go? Do you want some breakfast or anything?"

"No thanks," said Hermione. "We had some food and drink we packed up. Thank you for everything."

"If you're ever this way again, come in and say hello, won't you?" Lottie asked.

"Of course," said Hermione.

"Where are you two heading?" asked Alf, who had just walked through from the kitchen.

Hermione decided to play the situation in a way which wasn't lying but made sure the landlord and landlady didn't tell anyone else. So Hermione leaned over the bar and lowered her voice. "We're not really supposed to tell anyone," she said conspiratorally. "But we have to go through Little Hangleton."

Alf tapped his nose and winked. "Right you are, love. We won't breathe a word." It seemed Hermione's method for dealing with the inquiry had worked on all levels.

"It's a shame Matt and Joe weren't around this morning," said Lottie. "They'd get the bloke who drives them here by jeep sometimes, to take you there."

"Oh, that's all right," said Ginny. "We have legs!" Everyone laughed.

"Thanks again," said Hermione, as she and Ginny turned and walked out of The White Hart.

Once out in the street, both girls exhaled a breath, knowing they had got away with things very well, with minimum fuss or questions. They put on their hats and crossed the street to the church, to walk along that road.

"God, I hope those Americans aren't around this morning!" said Ginny, wondering about things.

"That could be awkward," said Hermione. "We'd have to do some major improvising."

"As long as they don't improvise with kissing us again!" said Ginny.

"I thought you liked that bit?" asked Hermione, as they walked past the signpost telling them that Little Hangleton was six miles away.

"I was surprised to begin with and thought it was wonderfully fun," said Ginny. "Then I thought about it more. We hardly knew them, or where they'd been!"

Hermione laughed. "Where they'd been? You sound like your mum!"

"You know what I mean!" said Ginny. "Anyway the more I've thought about it, the more I thought it was taking advantage. True, they were very nice men...but...they were very fast!"

"Yeah, we're used to the male of the species taking a couple of years to sum up enough courage to even hold our hand!" said Hermione still chuckling.

"Exactly!" said Ginny, grinning. "I can see why people thought these Americans were over sexed!"

Hermione had thought about Matt giving her that cheeky kiss too and although she too had been surprised and thought it was fun, she realized that the thing she had enjoyed was not a handsome man kissing her, but that a handsome man found her attractive. It tapped into the insecure part of her, and for a while she had felt amazing that someone had wanted to do that, even if it was in jest, after knowing her for such a short time. However, she quickly came to the conclusion that she needed to know someone properly to really enjoy such contact, even though her current subject, Ron, was not in her good books at the moment.

The walk along the road, which soon turned into a lane, was fairly pleasant. Already a couple of the farmers were out in the fields, mostly using horses still, with tractors not available in large quantities; it looked like they were sowing crops that morning.

Ginny and Hermione talked of various things as they walked, and it made them forget the distance they were actually walking. Invariably, they couldn't avoid going back to the night they had each had.

"I've never ever had a dream that's made me physically ill before," said Ginny.

"First time for everything," said Hermione. Ginny gave a small soft laugh at that. "What?" asked the brunette.

"You said something like that to me in one of my other dreams, about first times," said Ginny amused.

"I did?"

"Yeah, if I remember," said Ginny, thinking back to the dream she had, that had ended badly with Ron about to stab Hermione and not wanting to divulge that part, but think of the bits before then. "You said I needed to get into a bath with Harry and learn a few things and then that the first time was easy or something. You said it with quite a bit of authority on the subject."

"You don't believe that dream, surely?" asked Hermione, eyes wide, blushing slightly.

"No, mainly because I know that you and my brother took enough time to actually kiss, unless things happened in that tent when you were on the run?" she smirked at Hermione.

"Absolutely not!" said Hermione, a little flustered.

"If you say so."

"Ginny," Hermione said, taking a breath and thinking how to say her next words. "It's not something I take lightly...you know, the whole _first time_ business. It should mean something more than a rushed or drunken fumble. I might be a little old fashioned, but it's just how I feel on the subject."

Ginny stopped smirking. "I know, Hermione," she said. "I think like that too."

The two young women walked on past a signpost with 'Little Hangleton, 4 Miles' on it, and for the moment both were silent in thought.

Up until a few days ago Hermione had had a couple of _years,_ thinking of ways to get Ron to finally see her as a young woman interested in him. Often at nights she would think of him before she went to sleep and natuarlly she imagined sleeping next to him, on several hormone-charged nights she thought of sleeping _with_ him. As she walked along now, considering the resurfacing of her feelings on sex, and that she felt it had to be at the right time, with the right person for the right reasons, her thoughts didn't go to Ron as her likely 'right' person. He was currently a stumbling block, and something she wasn't sure of at the moment. Then she felt annoyed again, because it had been her dreams making her feel like this..._but dreams often show you things you didn't take notice of in the waking world; they show you things you already know too, _she thought.

Ginny's thoughts had gone to Harry. She had always hoped he would be her proper boyfriend, and when the war with Voldemort was over, she hoped there would be less of the on and offness their relationship had had so far. But, Harry was dead, and he was no longer going to be there and he certainly wasn't going to be there for her when they got back to Hogwarts. It made her feel empty and lonely. Her dreams had given her so many doubts too. _Was it just a crush I had on Harry? A schoolgirl's love? Well, he didn't seem to complain when we spent time away in secluded places snogging_, she thought. Everything was a mess now, and nothing was making sense with her feelings over Harry. After the last dream, she hoped she wouldn't see Harry in her dreams again.

When they had walked for about three miles in total, Hermione stopped. "Let's have a rest a moment," she said. "My feet aren't used to these shoes yet."

They walked over to a grass bank on one side of the lane. Hermione looked around to make sure no one was nearby, and pulled out her beaded bag; from it she retrieved a picnic blanket which she put down so they could sit without getting a wet backside, and then pulled out an apple each for them.

"Hermione?"

"Yes?" Hermione answered, after taking a bite of her apple, hoping they weren't going to talk further about their dreams, because she wasn't sure exactly how she felt about them yet; annoyed disbelief and believing them, or dismissive and not thinking a word of them were true. And the more she thought on them, the more blurred the lines of argument were to her.

"If you weren't here, what would you be doing?" asked Ginny, then seeing Hermione frown. "I mean if you weren't in the magical world. What would a 'muggle you' be doing now?"

Hermione was surprised by the question and interested too. "I suppose I would be finishing my A'Levels, those are like NEWTs, then going to university. I might have taken a year off first and gone travelling."

"What did you want to be? I almost can't say, 'when you grow up'," laughed Ginny. "But what would you have been?"

"I'm not sure," said Hermione thinking. "I think my parents would have liked me to become a dentist like them, or a doctor, maybe a vet. I think I'd have liked doing the last two. Why?"

"I just wondered," Ginny sighed. "How moments, sometimes little moments, change the path a person takes, and what might have happened if a different choice had been taken."

"I don't think I _chose_ magic," answered Hermione to that. "It chose me. I didn't have a clue about the magical world before I found out that Hogwarts existed and I was a witch. I suppose you just have to take each moment and choose the option you think is best when it comes along."

"Did you ever think of not going to Hogwarts?"

"No, not really," said Hermione. "It seemed wonderfully exciting and something completely different. I couldn't turn down a chance like that."

"Even with everything that's happened?"

"Yes, even with everything that's happened. I'm actually able to make a difference for people in both worlds; well I hope I'll be able to." Hermione thought for a moment. "Are you having regrets about something?"

"Not really," replied Ginny. "I just wondered about paths and choices."

"Do you regret coming along with me?" asked a worried Hermione. "I'd understand if you did."

"No, not at all," smiled Ginny. "It's one thing I _am_ certain of. I made the right decision to tag along...vomit-provoking dreams or no vomit-provoking dreams."

As the pair of them ate the rest of their apples, Ginny wondered what would have happened in her life if she had still been with Dean Thomas. _I'd be having arguments with Dean every other day_, she thought. _But with only thinking of Harry as a brother rather than boyfriend, would I have been so determined to do something and demand that Hermione take me with her? _She then thought of all the things they had had to work out so far, from something as simple as the date, to finding Dumbledore's house, to making their way here. _There's no way I could have let Hermione go alone whatever the case_, Ginny thought. _If I didn't come along, I wouldn't know what was here to face, but now I do know, I'm glad I'm here with her. Besides, even if I hadn't had a love-interest with Harry, I'd want to do something for Fred and Harry would feel like a brother...so yes, I'd still be just as determined. Oh shut up Ginny! _she told herself, _you think too much sometimes!_

Not wanting to be litter-louts, but knowing an apple core would rot down and probably be pecked at by a dozen different mammals, birds or insects, Ginny and Hermione threw their cores into the hedgerow.

"Right," said Hermione. "Let's get moving again."

Hermione looked around again, just to be sure no one was nearby, before folding up the blanket they had been sitting on and putting it back into her beaded bag. The blanket had got a little damp on the underside, but they couldn't use magic to dry it or clean it, so it went back damp.

"How much further, do you think we have to go?" asked Ginny. "I'm not complaining," she added quickly. "I just wondered."

"I think about another three miles," answered Hermione. "But whether that takes us to the outskirts of the village or into the centre, we won't know until we're there."

"Off we go then," said Ginny, as she and Hermione walked back down to the lane and continued in the direction of Little Hangleton.


	20. The Hanged Man and HQ

**A/N: Not much detail is known of Little Hangleton, just bits and pieces and the name of the pub. So again I've improvised a little with characters and terrain, to fill in the blanks.**

20: The Hanged Man and HQ

Another couple of miles were walked by Ginny and Hermione, and it hadn't been long after their stop when they found themselves walking downhill. It wasn't a sudden steep gradient, but there was definitely a downward slope to the lane. It was also at this point that Ginny spotted a building; after a little staring at it, they realized it was a church. It was quite small and squat, and of dark grey stone, blending in with a dull overcast sky that morning.

The last mile or so, as they weren't sure on the accuracy of the signposts, they saw a small village take shape up ahead. The lane widened slightly again to a road. Little Hangleton definitely wasn't as big as it's 'Great' sister village. Houses were dotted about, and the main street could hardly be called 'main'; it just had a few more buildings along it.

The church appeared to be a little separated from the village, whether it was always that way or the village had moved further from it due to an event like the Black Death, which sometimes caused villages to move along, was unclear.

A couple of people passed Hermione and Ginny on bicycles, going about their business. They did take a look at the two women, but not so long as to be rude; apparently not that interested, they peddled on past to wherever their destination was.

Although Ginny and Hermione's first port of call would be to find The Hanged Man pub, and hopefully get a room, Hermione was already trying to look beyond the village. It was a forest or small wood she was looking for a hint of, and she thought she could see a small wooded area beyond the church and away from it on a different side of the valley that the village seemed to sit in.

"I think that area over there, might be where our afternoon search begins," said Ginny, who had also been scanning the landscape for points of interest.

"I was then thinking it looked a good place to start," said Hermione.

"So, where's this pub?" Ginny said, taking her eyes away from the more distant view to the street in front of them.

"Found it!" said Hermione.

In truth, The Hanged Man wasn't all that hard to find. It was the biggest building in the village street and almost a central focal point; that and the fact there was a big sign hanging outside, showing a painting of a man hanging upside down, similar to a Tarot Card. The pub's name was also painted in big letters on a wooden sign, across the lintel of a downstairs window.

"Why's he hanging upside down?" asked Ginny, after she had looked at the sign. "I thought people were usually hanged by the neck?"

"Would you want to go into a place with a picture of a man being hanged in that way?"

"Ah...good point," said Ginny.

The pub was another old building, with timbers showing and its upper floors overhanging the lower ones. It wasn't quite as big as The White Hart, but was bigger than anything else in the street.

"On the plus side," said Hermione, as they walked towards the pub. "If there's no rooms, there's plenty of countryside around to put up the tent and not be observed."

The two young women had taken their time walking to Little Hangleton and as they walked in through the entrance to the pub, Hermione looked at a clock above the bar and saw it was approaching 11.30am. With the uncomfortable WAAF issue shoes, her feet felt like they'd been walking a lot longer than that.

On entering The Hanged Man, Hermione noticed an old man sitting at a table reading a newspaper, with a cup of tea in his hand. _Does every village pub have one of those?_ Hermione thought to herself. _It must be a prerequisite, 'village pub must have old bloke reading paper_'. The thought made her want to laugh.

They approached the bar and saw a man serving behind it. He looked fairly old himself, maybe sixty-five, and scrawny, with a cigarette hanging from his mouth with a long bit of ash at the end. _A scrawny landlord? _thought Hermione only a little concerned. Just as the man was about to speak a woman came through from the back somewhere and she was about five feet tall and nearly as wide. _Plump landlady and skinny landlord_, thought Hermione. _That equals it out...or maybe she eats his portions for him? _

"Can I help?" asked the woman.

"We were wondering if you have any rooms available?" asked Hermione.

"Yes, we do," said the woman. "Two on the top floor, both doubles."

"We're fine sharing," said Ginny.

Both Hermione and Ginny were thinking it sounded a bit like a déja vu moment, but quickly went back to concentrating on the situation in front of them.

"How long will you be wanting to stay?" asked the landlady.

"We're not sure," Hermione replied. "Maybe one night, maybe more, it depends. Is that a problem?"

"No," said the woman. "If it was longer than a couple of days then I'd need your ration books to contribute to any food you had with us."

"We'd let you know if we thought it would be longer," said Ginny.

The woman looked them up and down, almost as if she only just noticed they were both in uniform. "Are you doing something for the RAF around here, then?"

"Erm...we can't say, exactly," said Hermione, feeling awkward. "But we're in the area related to work, yes."

"I can't say we've had any WAAFs this way before," said the woman. "Anyway, it will be a bob a night, food will be extra, all right?"

"Yes, that's fine," said Hermione, as she pulled out her wallet and handed over a shilling. _It must be the going rate for a room in this area_, she thought.

"If you'd follow me," said the woman.

It was another déja vu moment, as Hermione and Ginny followed the landlady through a door, which led to a hallway and stairs. There were certain things which were different, but the layout was very similar. The top floor where the two rooms were, had a bathroom there too, it was almost like they hadn't left The White Hart.

"I'm Ada, by the way," the landlady told them with a smile. "Ada Massey, and that was my husband John downstairs. Anyway, I'll leave you to it," she said as she walked to the bedroom door. "Oh, we would like it if you could be back no later than 11pm; if you go out anywhere, that is."

Hermione and Ginny nodded their assent to that and the woman left, closing the door behind her.

"Well, I must s...," Ginny started to say, but Hermione waved her quiet.

"Yes, it's a lovely room, isn't it?" Hermione said in a jovial voice, as she crept to the closed door and listened.

To begin with Ginny didn't know what was going on, then realized her friend was checking to make sure the woman had truly gone and wasn't listening at the door. Hermione heard the plump woman's fairly heavy footsteps getting quieter and descend the wooden stairs.

"Sorry about that," said Hermione in a quiet voice.

"Don't you trust Ada?"

"I'm not sure yet. But we're right in the lion's den now and I think even more caution is needed."

"At least she didn't give us a lecture about men coming up to the room," said Ginny.

"True," smiled Hermione. "But I'm begining to wonder if WAAF uniforms for here was such a good idea."

"Yeah, I heard her say, they hadn't see any of us."

"I'm hoping they took the bit we fed them about work," said Hermione.

"I think they did."

"Argghh!" exclaimed Hermione, although not too loudly. "We've hardly been here more than minutes and already my paranoia has gone up a few levels."

"As you said, we're in the lion's den," said Ginny. "I think it's a good idea to be especially careful."

Their room had a comfortable double bed, a small side table each side of it, a chest of drawers, small wardrobe and small washstand with mirror.

They took off their greatcoats and hung them on a peg on the back of the door, and took their hats off. Hermione sat herself on the edge of the bed and took off her shoes, giving a small sigh once her feet were free of them; then she laid back on the bed and sighed again before shutting her eyes.

"Right," she said, still with her eyes closed. "We're here, we have a room."

"You're just wanting to me to say the next bit, aren't you?" laughed Ginny. "So you can tease me?"

"Hmm?" Hermione asked, opening her eyes. "Oh, lunch and food you mean? The thought never crossed my mind to make fun of you." She couldn't help smirking.

"So lunch is on the agenda in the near future?" said Ginny, resigned to pointing it out.

Hermione's smile widened. "Yeah, that will be the next thing."

"Then we can start scouting for that...place, shack thing." said Ginny, quietly, not sure what to call it. "I think we need a code word for it, just in case someone hears us talk about it."

"See? That's the paranoid spirit we're looking for!" said Hermione, cheerfully. "You're right, though." There was silence as they tried to think of a word to cover the true one.

"Why don't we just call the 'place' HQ?" suggested Hermione. "It means 'headquarters', and hearing a WAAF say HQ wouldn't be strange at all."

"Okay, that's sorted. Do we need a word for the...bloke?" asked Ginny.

"I don't think so, because all the times we've spoken about this, other than with Dumbledore, we've talked of the location and building, not the man. If we keep to that, it's not a problem."

After a short time, Hermione grudgingly put her shoes back on. She wished she had altered hers slightly to fit better; Ginny's were comfortable because hers had been transfigured for her. It was too late now, they couldn't do magic just for a pair of shoes.

It was after midday when the girls went downstairs to see what offerings were available for lunch. The only choice was shepherd's pie with carrots. It soon became very apparent that The Hanged Man didn't have any American soldier friends from the base, as the shepherd's pie had very little meat and hardly any flavour. It was hot food and relatively filling, and with the numerous hungry days Hermione had experienced with Ron and Harry, she wasn't going to feel too fussy about it and just accepted it. After all, they had some things in her bag if they were that desperate.

Thankfully it seemed Ada was in charge of the cooking. Hermione wasn't too keen on the idea of John going near the food, dropping ash from his drooping cigarette over everything. As they had lunch, a couple of villagers had come into the pub too. All through their meal, John was bobbing around behind the bar, putting glasses under the counter and cleaning piping to the beer in the cellar. When he wasn't in sight Hermione still knew he was there from the frequent puffs of smoke which came up from behind the bar.

Not long after they finished lunch and paid for it, Hermione and Ginny went back to their room, to get ready for their search for the Gaunt shack.

"Do we have to take the gas masks with us?" asked Ginny.

"Yes," said Hermione. "Just in case we don't get back here, we need everything with us. We're supposed to be doing something related to 'work', so we'll have to have the hats too and look as though we have an assigment and are going about it."

Ginny groaned. "I can't wait to wear my hat again!" she said sarcastically.

All ready, they went downstairs again. As they walked through to the door, John nodded to them and the two women smiled back as they went through the door.

Once in the street and having walked a few paces, Ginny said, "No awkward conversations there, thankfully."

"Yeah," replied Hermione. "Now let's head for that wooded area we spotted earlier."

They walked along the village street and as they left the last cottage which could be thought of as 'in' the village, the road turned to a narrower lane again. Hermione and Ginny hadn't walked far, when they had to get up onto a verge to allow a pair of horses past; two shire horses were pulling a large cart, the farmer nodded his thanks to them for clearing the way as he passed them. It became obvious in a very short time what the cart contained as it passed them.

"Oh god!" Ginny said, putting a hand to her face and nearly gagging.

"Manure!" Hermione said. "Fresh country air!" she laughed, slapping Ginny on the back.

"We've had all kinds of animals at the Burrow, but their poo never smelt that bad!"

"Probably because your parents...alter the air," said Hermione.

After walking a couple of hundred yards, the church was on their left. The churchyard was quite large and spread around, without any proper church walls to signify its boundaries. Looking across the expanse of land from here, the girls could see one or two large farm houses or manors on the outskirts of the village. A couple were closer than others, and one was visible up ahead beyond the finger of woodland that jutted out into fields.

"I wonder...," Hermione said.

"What?" asked Ginny.

"You see that big house, a long way ahead, past the outcrop of trees?"

"Yes."

"If this area of trees is a woodland and is the one we're looking for, then it's possible that house is the...," Hermione looked around them, before whispering into Ginny's ear. "That house could be the house of You Know Who's father and grandparents."

Ginny's eyes went wide. "Really?"

"I'm a bit self-consious about talking out loud here. I know it's silly because we're out in the open, but being so near to everything I'm a little edgy," said Hermione. "So I'll have to whisper it." The brunette licked her bottom lip in thought, before continuing. "Harry saw things, which Dumbledore showed him and confirmed, and Harry then told Ron and I about what he saw. Are you understanding me?" asked Hermione.

"Yee...ess," Ginny said, as her brain was putting all the components together, about Harry seeing things that Dumbledore showed him in the pensieve and relaying it to Hermione and Ron. "Did...Harry see the house?"

"Sort of, more than once, but not where. But the location was near to...HQ...because You Know Who's mother saw his father riding by a lot. That's when she fancied him for herself and found a way to get him."

"If so, then our search is right on course," said Ginny, not entirely sure how she felt about that.

"Yes," said Hermione, also not knowing how she felt, now that they were so close.

"Do we do the whole thing today, if we do find...HQ?" asked Ginny.

"I'm thinking no," said Hermione. "We need to find HQ and then work out a plan, and try to think of all the possibilities."

"Right, okay" said the redhead.

They continued walking along the lane, and the wooded area came closer and was on their right, with the lane twisting a tight corner to go around the edge of it. As the two women approached the tight curve in the lane, they saw a small track leading off it. It certainly wasn't a road and couldn't even be classed as a lane, but it had seen some traffic of a kind, to leave the brown dirt surface clear through the vegetation and trees. Whether the traffic was walkers, cyclists or horse riders wasn't clear; neither was its destination clear.

"Do we walk along it, then?" asked Ginny.

Hermione nodded. "Only one way to find out."

Taking a look around them, and noting the position of the church across the way, to get an idea of direction, they stepped off the lane and onto the track.

To begin with the track stayed to the side of the trees, and as they walked further it soon became apparent that it was indeed a reasonable sized woodland. There were only a few birds to be heard and those were mostly the caws of rooks, already nesting high up in the trees.

Hermione and Ginny treaded very carefully and walked at a slow steady pace, taking in all the sounds and sights. After a few minutes there was an even smaller track leading off from the main one they were on.

Ginny nodded to Hermione, as if to say that they would take the path. Before turning off into the woodland Hermione looked up the track further, wondering if she could see another turn-off further up, but it seemed the track kept mostly to the side of the trees and then curved away from the woodland; any other tracks were not visible from their current position.

Both young women took a deep breath, not aware they had done so, but they would not have been surprised if they had been told about it; they didn't know what lay ahead, not completely, and that demanded a certain amount of steely resolve to go onwards to the unknown.

The little track they now began to walk on was even smaller than the main track, with plants, some dead some fresh, such as ferns, bracken and weeds, overgrown and sprawling the path in a lot of places. It was also only a few minutes before the light seemed to dim, with the trees, even in their pre-spring emptiness, making the light much duller in the woodland.

The path turned and began to follow the same direction of the main track, but this path was taking them deeper into the trees rather than away from them.

_BANNNG BANNNG_

Hermione and Ginny froze on the spot, not knowing what to do. They didn't know what the noise had been and as much as instinct made them want to reach for their wands, they knew they couldn't do that; not yet at least.

Ginny was thinking hard, _Was that a blast of magic? It can't have been a rook, that's for sure._

_I don't think that was a shotgun, _thought Hermione.

A few moments of silence, with only the occasional call of a rook, Hermione touched Ginny's arm, and raised a finger to her lips. It was obvious that they shouldn't talk, but she wanted to get Ginny's attention to convey what they should do. Next, Hermione lowered her hand and bent her knees a little and stooped over, making herself smaller. Ginny caught on and did the same. Then Hermione pointed up the path and waggled two fingers in a walking motion.

Hermione took Ginny's hand and they slowly and silently moved further along the path in a semi-crouch, stopping every so often to listen. They looked up the path ahead, and behind the gloom of the trees they could make out a square shape, possibly a building settled deep in the wood. Hermione squeezed Ginny's hand and pointed ahead, but the redhead had already spotted the building and assented that they should approach it, even more carefully than they had been doing.

Edging along the path, feeling like they were almost crawling and had been walking miles instead of a few hundred yards, they reached a wider part of the path and saw that further ahead it got a little wider still and there was a break in the trees with the building much clearer beyond. It was indeed a very shabby looking cottage, but it remained to be seen if it was the place they sought and not just a woodman's hut.

Hermione squeezed Ginny's hand once more and gently tugged on the hand to take them off the path and to approach the building through the shrubs, so they could keep covered and hidden.

Every dead weed or old twig they stood on seemed to reverberate the sounds far too loudly, and they would stop for a moment before continuing. Both women's hearts were racing, thumping against their ribcages. Finally they reached the edge of the vegetation, where it stopped and became a small cleared area; it was far too dishevelled to be call a garden, however.

The two women stayed in the cover of the shrubs, crouching right down on the ground to look at the building and the area around it. Apart from the path they had taken, it looked like there was only one other path away from the run-down building, which indeed looked more a shack than cottage. The second path was away in the opposite direction and Hermione suspected it joined up with the main track a lot further on.

_BANNNNGGG BANG BANG _

The sound made the women jump again, but it was then they saw the origin of the noise. What presumably passed for the front door was ajar and the wind had been catching it now and again, making it bang. Just as Ginny and Hermione felt themselves relax a little on finding the source of the noise, they saw a little shadowy movement behind the door.

Holding their breath subconsciously and trying to crouch lower to the ground, if that was possible, the two women fixed their eyes on the door. On the one hand wanting to get a proper look at the occupant, on the other, fearful if the person decided to take a walk in their direction.

_Oh my god!, _thought Hermione, as her breath hitched, realizing something for the first time. _That shack looks a bit like the one in my dream the other night! Does that mean something? Am I just looking for something that isn't there, anyway? Now is _not _the time to be analysing _that_!_

Ginny had felt Hermione tense and heard her take a sharp breath. She nudged her friend and gave her a worried, questioning look. Hermione shook her head, then leaned in close to Ginny, her lips nearly touching the redhead's ear, and quieter than she had ever whispered in her life she said. "I'll tell you later." The red-haired girl nodded back.

Hermione risked peeping up to get another look at the shack, when the door banged again. It was then she saw what adorned the door. _It's the shack, this is it!, _she thought, as she worked out the flopping shrivelled form of a dead snake, nailed to the door. She only knew it was a dead snake because Harry had told her about it; had she not, she might have thought it a type of vine or something. She nudged Ginny and when her friend looked at her, she pointed to the shack and then put her thumb up. The redhead frowned a little, but Hermione just repeated the hand signal, then leaned in to whisper in Ginny's ear again. "It's the shack."

Their attention was drawn back suddenly to the shack after the door banged again. However, this time the occupant opened the door and stepped out.

The two young women kept as low as possible in the shrubs and hardly dare breathe as they watched the person.

The occupant was a man, who looked absolutely wild, as if he had been living in a cave for years and only just crawled outside again. He had a terrible posture and it soon became obvious to the two WAAFs watching, that the man wasn't completely sane.

Morfin Gaunt had heard the door bang a few times and finally decided he had had enough of it for one day. Hermione and Ginny watched as the wild man stared at his door and started pointing at the dead snake hanging from it. He was admonishing the dead creature and ranting, but to his two observers all they heard was a series of hisses and snarls. He punched the door a couple of times and took a kick at the dead snake, before going back inside and slamming the door shut.

Hermione pulled on Ginny's hand and pointed with her other that they should make a start of retreating. After some nerve-wracking steps to creep away from the shack, they got back to the path, walking backwards most of the time and very slowly, to keep an eye on the shack and its area. They didn't speak a word, until their very long and arduous retreat got them back to the part of the path before it had turned.


	21. Planning and Reflexology

**A/N: Fear not, I'm gradually getting to the point. :) Just a couple of chapters of build-up needed, to thicken the whole thing...like a good sauce. :)**

**I had fun with this chapter. ;)**

21: Planning and Reflexology

Hermione and Ginny walked a little along the small overgrown path, until they were back in sight of the edge of the woodland and the main track again.

"You're sure that's the place?" asked Ginny, though still in a quiet voice.

"Yes," Hermione said, whispering. "That was a dead snake nailed to the door. Harry told me about it, as he'd seen it in a memory. And that makes that crazy old man...the one we're looking for."

"He did seem as mad as a bag of ferrets, didn't he?" Ginny replied, then shivered. "Brrr."

"You're not alone in feeling that," said Hermione wrapping her arms about herself as she too felt the threat of a cold shiver.

As they reached the main track, instead of turning to go back to the lane, Hermione took hold of Ginny's arm and turned her so they walked in the opposite direction.

"Uh, where are we going?" asked the redhead.

"I want to know where that other path comes out," said Hermione. "The one at the back of the shack. I have a feeling it joins this track further along. We need to know all the ways in and out."

Ginny nodded, and as much as she didn't want to walk further and go anywhere near the shack again so soon, she knew they needed to know the terrain a little.

They walked for a good quarter of a mile further along the track, possibly more, the trees of the woodland on their left. As the track curved to move away from the wood Ginny spotted what looked like a rough path which joined the curve leading from the wood. "I suppose we have to walk along it now?" she asked.

"I'm afraid so," said Hermione.

Taking even more care, now that they knew it was the place they were looking for and that Morfin was inside the shack, they walked along the second path. It was nearly as overgrown, and when they saw the shack appear through the trees, they got off the path and into the vegetation again.

Observing the back of the shack, or at least the other side of it, Hermione and Ginny took in the location more; from the single door on this side of the shack, to a nailed and boarded up window.

Once they had had a decent amount of time looking at the area in front of them, they began their retreat again. At first keeping crouched and moving a step at a time backwards, before getting a fair distance away and finally joining the main track again.

Instead of going back the way they had come on the main track they decided to follow it further on and see where it went to.

Half a mile further on and clear of the woods, with only hedgerows and the odd single tree here and there, Hermione stopped them and walked off their path slightly, looked around them to make sure they were alone, she pulled out her beaded bag and found up the blanket again. Placing the blanket over a slightly raised grassy hump the brunette sat down, Ginny joining her.

"Do you want a tea?" asked Hermione. Ginny nodded.

Hermione brought out one of their flasks and poured them out a tea each into the flask mugs. She rummaged slightly in her bag again and brought out a little tin, which contained some fudge. Although they hadn't been doing anything really energetic, or been in battle, they had had some stress and nerves to deal with, and that required a sugar boost.

"I know Lupin was always handing out chocolate at times like this," said Hermione, as she handed the small tin to Ginny. "But I'm in the mood for fudge. It works just the same."

"Lupin must have had an unending supply of chocolate," said Ginny, chewing on a piece of fudge. "I always imagined that his pockets were glued up with little melted bits of it."

"I still can't believe that he and Tonks are...gone," said Hermione, pausing in thought, before shaking her head. "Sorry, I didn't mean to make us depressed."

"It's all right," Ginny replied. "We can't avoid the facts. We're all going to miss so many people. I don't think a magical family in the whole of Britain has escaped from some kind of trauma or grief."

Holding her mug between her knees for a moment, Hermione pulled out a notepad and a pencil.

"So," said Hermione, taking the mug back in one hand as she poised her pencil over the open notepad. "We know the position of the shack." She drew a little square. "And there are two paths, one from the front, and one from the back." She added two double lines to the paper, coming from either side of the square. "And those both join up with the main track we're on, which joins the main village lane at one end."

Ginny had to smile as she watched Hermione sketching a basic plan of the shack and paths. In an odd kind of way it made her feel more secure to witness her friend getting all business-like. It made her feel more confident within herself.

"When we find out where this track ends up, I'll add that too," said Hermione.

"We saw two doors, back and front," added Ginny. "So that's two possibilites for in or out, both for going in and leaving."

"Yes, we'll have to decide on that when we get back to the pub."

"I think the getting in part will be simpler," said Ginny. "But I still can't imagine how we're going to...," she lowered her voice further. "...do the switch-over."

"Hmm, we soon won't be able to avoid planning that part," said Hermione. "We really need more than one plan."

"Great!" said a sarcastic Ginny. "I'm simply oozing with plans for that!"

"We'll think of something."

Hermione closed the notebook and she and Ginny finished their tea, talking of this and that and their disbelief over just what they had been doing in looking for Gaunt. After packing away everything again, they continued their walk along the track, which was curving back around in the direction of the village.

After a lot of walking, which seemed to go around the outskirts of fields, they found themselves out the back of some cottages, and peering between them they could see the main village street. Following the trackway to the end, it curved and joined the road, nearly opposite The Hanged Man pub.

"That's very handy to know," said Hermione.

"Worth the tired feet?" asked Ginny.

"It could well be."

Looking at her watch Hermione couldn't believe the time. It had been a dull overcast day, so they were unaware of the sun's position or any thought about it getting darker towards the end of an early spring afternoon, such was their concentration on their task. With their scouting, and walking, their break and that followed by a lot more walking, they had been gone a few hours. It was now around six o'clock in the evening.

They walked into the pub, which had a couple of people at the bar, drinking what looked like ale or bitter. John Massey was serving and looked up as they walked in.

"Everything all right, girls?" he inquired.

"Yes, thank you," said Hermione.

"Will ya be wanting a dinner?" he asked them, his almost permanent ash-laden cigarette bobbing in his mouth.

"Yes, if that's possible?" asked Hermione.

"Ada?" John called. "ADA?"

The plump landlady walked through from the back. "What is it, now?" she said, slightly annoyed at her husband, then she saw the two WAAFs. "Hello," she said. "Would you like some dinner?" Ginny and Hermione nodded.

"Not much choice I'm afraid, it will be cold spam and mash potatoes, with some turnips."

"That would be great," said Hermione. She was feeling a little hungry, and although they had much better wares in her bag, she would take what they could, so their stocks didn't go down too soon.

The girls went upstairs to leave their greatcoats, hats and gas mask bags in their room, and washed their face and hands. When they got downstairs they sat at one of the tables, and it wasn't long before Ada brought out their plates.

"Here we go, then," said the landlady. "Would you like something to drink?"

"Thanks," said Ginny. "Can we have two shandies?"

"Of course, I won't be a tick," said Ada as she went to the bar and gave the order to her husband, who then came over with the two glasses.

"Two shandies," he said, setting down the glasses. "Busy afternoon?"

"A little," said Hermione, hoping he wouldn't probe for further details.

"Well, I suppose we all have to do our bit," he said. "Just you take care of yourselves." He smiled, making his cigarette pop up in almost a salute, before going back to the bar.

The spam wasn't too bad as tinned cold meat went, and the mash and turnips were pleasant enough.

"Have I got you hooked on shandy?" Hermione asked Ginny, having been amused when her friend asked for the drinks.

"I like it," said the redhead. "A bit more refreshing than our _usual_ beer."

When they had finished their dinner, Ada came round to them and asked if they wanted some fruit pie for dessert, but Hermione said they were full, quickly stepping on Ginny's foot to stop the redhead from saying otherwise.

A few minutes later they were back in their room, timing things right again, as they could hear the pub's regulars arrive for the evening; more clinking of glasses and murmuring was heard, just as The White Hart had been.

Both sitting down on the end of the bed to take off their shoes from tired feet, Ginny gave a little laugh. "You're gradually beating me up," she said.

"Am I?"

"Yes you are!" grinned Ginny. "If you're not kicking me and stamping on my foot under tables then you're dragging me off into shrubs or down pathways."

"Well...," Hermione started, then seemed lost for words. "Sorry."

"Don't worry about it," said Ginny. "This isn't exactly regular life is it? And when you've beaten me up it's for a very good reason."

"I haven't _beaten_ you up," said Hermione. "Don't exaggerate. If anyone heard you, they would think I punched and slapped you around. Which I haven't!"

"My foot would beg to differ," laughed Ginny, as she pulled off her shoe and flung off the sock, rubbing her foot where Hermione had so recently stepped on it.

"Oh," Hermione said, as she saw the red mark on the top of her friend's foot, where the toes met the main part of the foot. "I _am_ sorry."

"I've had worse," smiled Ginny.

"Here, let me give you a foot massage as an apology," said Hermione reaching for Ginny's foot.

"Uh-na!" said Ginny, turning away and keeping her foot out of Hermione's reach. "You'll only bloody tickle me. I'll keep the sore foot, thank you very much."

"I promise," Hermione said, truly feeling a little guilty about leaving such a mark on her friend's foot. Ron said he liked her foot rubs, the couple of times she had done so for him. "Your brother says I do good foot rubs."

"You touched my brother's feet?" Ginny asked, with a look of shock. "Were you ill at the time...I mean _before_ you touched them, not just after?"

Hermione chuckled. "It's only feet, Ginny, and a fat lot of good we'd be at walking anywhere without them."

Ginny gave her a cautious look, but her mind was already thinking ahead and wanting to feel some relief for her tired feet. "Hmm...okay," she said, moving up the bed to sit up against the headboard with her legs stretched out. "But if you so much as tickle a toe, you're going to pay for it!" she said, pointing a finger at the very beguiled Hermione.

Hermione settled herself so she was sitting on the side of the bed and then put Ginny's feet across her lap and started to gently massage her friend's right foot, the stamped-on one, starting with the sole first.

"Why did you stamp on my foot, anyway?" asked Ginny.

"I didn't want a fruit pie that required you to play a game of 'find the fruit', when we have some very nice ones to choose from in the bag and for free."

"I see."

"Also, the time was going, and I didn't want us to be there as more and more of the villagers came in."

"Yeah, I'm not sure I would want to be stared at longer than we had to today," said Ginny, as it seemed her whole body had become relaxed.

Hermione gently worked on the area of Ginny's foot she had stamped on. "Let me know if it hurts, won't you?"

"It's fine," said Ginny, in a very relaxed voice. "Feels better already. Where did you learn to do that?"

"I don't know," said Hermione. "I used to give my Mum footrubs when I was young. Just a funny thing I did and found out I was quite good at it."

Ginny laughed. "What _aren't_ you good at?"

"Hmm...men," said Hermione, making them both laugh. "Foot rubs are a little bit of biology really."

"How so?"

"It's thought each part of the foot is directly connected to another part of the body. So for instance," said Hermione, grasping Ginny's foot and pressing both thumbs to the underside of the big toe. "The big toe and tops of the other toes are thought to be the head area and a little lower down where the big toe meets the foot, is the neck."

As Hermione kneaded the pad of Ginny's big toe, the redhead closed her eyes wondering if she felt anything.

"Hmm," said Ginny. "I'm not convinced. It feels nice, but I don't know if I'm imagining my neck and head feel less tense or they really are?"

"Everyone's reflexes are slightly different."

"Try another one," said Ginny.

Hermione worked her thumbs further down to the area of the ball of the foot.

"That feels nice," said Ginny. "I'm not sure where, but it's nice."

"That one is the heart and lung chest area, if I remember," said Hermione.

"So the feet are like a map of the body?" asked Ginny, fascinated.

"In a way. Some people don't believe in it, but there's usually at least one of two places on a person's foot that they do feel."

"Try another," said Ginny, enjoying the foot massage as well as the interesting information.

Hermione felt a little devious and knew which reflex she would try next. "Close your eyes and clear your mind, " she said, as she gradually moved her thumbs lower towards the heel area of Ginny's feet and with a smirk on her face, hoping it would work, she kneaded her thumbs around the heels. "How does that feel?"

"Hmm, very nice," said Ginny, still with her eyes closed.

Hermione then pressed her thumbs into one foot and dragged them down a little to knead the bottom of the heel. The brunette was wickedly delighted to hear her friend take in a breath and let out a little sigh.

"How's that feel?"

"Umm, well...," Ginny struggled to form a word. "Er, what part of the body is supposed to feel different?"

"As I said, everyone's different, so you'll have to tell me," Hermione said, trying hard not to burst out laughing.

"This is going to sound weird...," began Ginny.

"It's just me here," said Hermione, trying to sound innocent.

"Well," said Ginny, opening her eyes and knowing she was blushing. "I felt something...odd...down below."

Hermione couldn't contain a little snort of laughter now.

Ginny looked almost mortified. "You...you knew!"

"Might have done," said Hermione. "I didn't see you complaining about it while I was doing it?"

Ginny's ears had turned bright red, and her cheeks were nearly the same colour, and she couldn't find a come-back to answer with. "See? You're beating me up again!" she spluttered out.

"Hardly," said Hermione. "Anyway, do your feet feel better?"

"Yes."

"Well, no harm done then," said Hermione, smiling warmly. "I think we both needed to do something different before we have to face the next thing; planning this blooming 'switch' we have to try."

Ginny didn't like being made to squirm, but thinking about it, she had to admit that being in the circumstances they were in, having a footrub that made her feel fluttery feelings in her groin was pretty funny, and Hermione was right, they needed to think of something else, even if it was only for a few minutes.

Hermione washed her hands at the washstand then got her beaded bag and pulled out the picnic box. "Do you want any dessert?"

"Yeah, might as well," replied Ginny. "Brain food!"

"Exactly," said Hermione. "Apple pie?" The redhead nodded her agreement, and Hermione halved one of the very small pies and put their pieces onto two plates which she had packed.

Next, Hermione retrieved her notepad and pencil and she added the end of the path to her basic map, curling it to the edge of the page with an arrow, and labelled the arrow 'To Village'. "First things first," said the brunette, after taking a small bite of pie. "Which way do we go in?"

"The shortist way, by the lane, means we have less time to be nervous," said Ginny thinking. "But the other path, although longer, keeps us out of anyone's sight."

"We only saw a couple of people on bicycles this afternoon," said Hermione. "I'm not sure it makes too much difference for going."

"So, we take the lane route in," said Ginny, with a nod of agreement from Hermione.

"If we do see someone and feel uncomfortable, we can always walk past on the lane and even go over to the church to use up time, until the lane is clear from anyone's view again," said Hermione. "So next we have to decide which door we attempt to enter by or get the man's attention to."

"The first path to the front door, was more overgrown than the other path, but I feel the front of the house has more space to see around," offered Ginny.

"I didn't like that boarded up window at the back," said Hermione. "Someone could be peeping from it and we'd never know, but the path is better that side."

"Hang on," said Ginny. "We have to think of getting away again, on foot, hopefully. We really need the shortest route back to the village, to where people are. I think, based on that, we need to go in and out from the lane end."

"Yes, there's a lot more steps to use the track, so that should be our second choice," said Hermione, as she moved her pencil over her map, making a line a little darker as she thought.

"So, we deal with the more overgrown path, but that's in exchange for a faster route in and out and a better side of the building to deal with?" Ginny inquired for confirmation.

"Yes," agreed Hermione. "I think that part is sorted out very well."

"That leaves...well...how to do the switch?" said Ginny, raising a hand to her head trying to source some ideas.

"The hard part."

"Do we knock on the door and get him to open it? Do we just barge in?" Ginny was suggesting, holding out fingers for each thought process. "Or do we make a noise and lure him out from a short distance away?"

"I don't know," Hermione said. "We were told not to use magic unless we had to. But I'm guessing that man has some ability. And the thought of...,"

Ginny finished the sentence for her. "The thought of a bloke as loopy as him getting a bit, _excited_, doesn't make for nice possibilities."

"Precisely."

"I presume he's _wearing_ the Ring?" asked Ginny.

"Yes," said Hermione. "Even though I doubt he knew it's true identity, he was proud of it as an heirloom; he was just unlucky to have flashed it at the wrong person, when You Know Who paid him a visit."

"We could lure him out, then jump him and knock him out?" suggested Ginny.

"We'd have to be sure he walked out in the right direction, and with his mental instability he might be too unpredictable. Also, how hard do we hit...I don't want to risk killing him. That's not supposed to happen here."

"You never played much quidditch, did you?"

"I never did," answered Hermione. "You know that. Why?"

"It's a physical game," explained Ginny. "You get to know how hard a hit is to knock you out and what requires hospital treatment."

"What are you saying? That you know how to knock him out..._safely_?" asked an incredulous Hermione.

"I think I know the amount of force required," Ginny said, half-smiling.

"Are you able to do it? Remember we don't have a stray bludger to help or magic to lift a branch and whack him one?"

"Hermione, I grew up with six brothers. I learned very fast how to match them," Ginny's chin was set in her familiar determined pose. "I'm also known to be very hard on the quidditch pitch. Just ask any Slytherin or Hufflepuff player from last year!"

"All right," said Hermione, putting a hand up to rub her own tired head. "Are you prepared to do this then?"

"Yes," Ginny replied without hesitation.

Hermione sighed. "That leaves the method to get him within your range."

"Hmm, back to that tricky question." Ginny took a small bite of pie and absent mindedly rubbed her chin with a finger, deep in thought. "Do you know any parseltongue?"

"No, of course I don't," said Hermione.

"I just thought, that spending so much time with Harry he might have taught you some?"

"It's not like learning French," answered Hermione. "It's a thing you can do or not do, it can't be learned."

"Wait a moment!" said Ginny. "Didn't Ron speak some to get into the Chamber? He was rambling on, saying he heard Harry speak it in his sleep or something?"

"Yes, that's right," replied Hermione. "BUT, Ron didn't know what he was saying. He could have been saying 'Wipe my backside with a wire brush' for all we know?"

Ginny laughed. "It opened the Chamber, though. Couldn't you remember some of it?"

"It took me by surprise," Hermione explained, frustrated with herself. "I didn't notice the actual pattern or sounds."

"We could just hiss at him," suggested the redhead. "It might mean something to him?"

"Or he might get really pissed off and just strike out at whomsoever is hissing at him," stated Hermione. "I think the parseltongue option is not an option," she quickly added. "I don't mean to step on your idea or anything like that, I just...,"

"Don't worry about it," said Ginny. "This isn't about egos and who thought what. We're going through each idea and trying to find the best choice. And that's exactly what we're doing."

In the past few months, Hermione had been so used to either Harry or Ron blowing up in her face with every single idea or plan of action that was suggested by any of them, which one or the other disagreed with, that her desire to avoid any confrontation with Ginny had made her super sensitive to not walking over her ideas. Once again she gave an inner sigh of relief, because Ginny truly meant what she said; she wanted to work _with_ her, not fight her to win a point or get ratty because her ideas were not chosen. For the moment they still had to come up with a way to get Morfin Gaunt within range, for Ginny to act.


	22. Floorboards and Doors

**A/N: I've decided to take pity on you and post two chapters for this update. :) Plus you'll see my promise that we're actually getting somewhere by the second of the chapters. :)**

**Warning:**** There's a little adult content here...maybe not in the way you hoped for...have patience with that, you **_**will**_** be rewarded in the not too distant future on that account. ;) **

22: Floorboards and Doors

The two women went silent, thinking hard, hoping for a brainwave or even a small idea to strike them. They finished their pieces of pie, and while still deep in thought, Hermione poured them a glass of water each from the jug on one of the bedside tables.

"If we knock on the door, he might strike out at us for just standing there," said Hermione. "But I'm thinking it might be the best option from a bad set of choices."

"I would need to have access to the side or back of him to get in a blow to knock him out, without him having time to move out of the way," said Ginny. "If he comes to answer the door, then he'll face us. Then if he hisses at us to bugger off, he'll close the door, not turn around or step outside."

"What about a combination of ideas?" asked Hermione. "How about I knock on the door...actually stand in front of the door, while you're to my side and not in his immediate eyeline? Then when he opens the door, I could start waving my hands around and pointing back the way I came as if trying to show him something. But I'd be a little frantic so he gets the idea something is up."

"Riiiight," said Ginny as she was taking it in.

"Then," Hermione continued. "I can sort of edge away and flap a bit, beckon him to come and look. I think even a mentally unstable man like him would want to know what has got someone else flapping around crazily. Plus, the obvious uniform has to help the whole strange 'what's going on?' tinge it will give him."

"Okay, so you get him to the door, and lure him out and I come in from the side and..." _thwack! _Ginny smacked her right fist into her left palm.

"Yes."

"I think it's the best plan we have," Ginny said, nodding. "Fairly simple, but it might do it."

"Now, there are other things," said Hermione. "Things that could go wrong."

"I'm not sure we should think too much about that," said Ginny. "Firstly I don't like thinking about things going wrong, and we both know what that would be anyway. Mr. Nutty throwing a magical tantrum at you, me or both of us, causing injury, or death. If we need to run, we have two paths to choose from, that should be enough."

"It's not," said Hermione. "If things go really badly, we'll have to use magic to Disapparate. We might have to anyway, to clear the area. If we do Disapparate, we go back to the house at Godric's Hollow. I think it's the only safe place open to us. And we discussed a few days ago that if one of us gets hurt or killed, we try to get us both back to Godric's Hollow and if we can't take the other, get back alone and talk to Dumbledore. And make sure whichever one of us has my beaded bag, if we can."

"I know," said Ginny, glumly. "But I won't leave you, I've promised I'd get you back. But yes, I know the plan if things go wrong."

"I promise the same for you, you know that. But it never hurts to be refreshed on the bigger issues," Hermione said, trying to smile to lighten Ginny's mood.

"Are we doing this tomorrow?" asked the redhead.

"If you're ready?"

"Yes. Let's just get this done, or try to get it done anyway," said a detemined Ginny.

"I think whatever happens we'll sign-out from here tomorrow morning," said a thoughtful Hermione. "Then when we get away, we won't be missed. If we need another attempt we can find a secluded spot and use the tent."

Ginny agreed. "Yes, that all makes sense."

Hermione looked at the time, it was approaching 9.30pm; once again time had gone by fast. "I'm going to have a quick wash and freshen up, then I'm going to get an early night," she said, then grinned. "I've had a lot of those lately. I must be getting old!"

Ginny laughed. "What does that say about me, then? I'm a year younger than you?"

Hermione put a hand into her beaded bag and retrieved some pyjama bottoms and a T'shirt. "Are you still going to wear the T'Shirt you've been wearing?"

"Yeah, but it will definitely need a cleaning spell on it soon, though," said Ginny.

"It doesn't smell unfresh," said Hermione. "Besides I'd soon tell you if you started to whiff a bit."

The redhead opened her mouth, but couldn't think of anything to say. "Well...thank _you_!" she ended up saying. Hermione grinned and and left the room to go over to the bathroom.

Ginny picked up the T'Shirt which had been Harry's and sniffed the armpits of it; she was relieved to find it smelled fine for the moment. She could still just pick out Harry's scent on the garment, but it was fading and in truth she didn't know how to feel about that. _Will he fade from my memory eventually, as his scent will fade from this T'Shirt?_ she thought a little sadly.

A short time later Hermione walked in, having finished in the bathroom, and Ginny got up and went across the hallway herself. It was gone 10pm when both women slid under the covers ready for bed.

"We never said, but when do we get up tomorrow? What time are we going?" asked Ginny.

"It doesn't have to be really early, but I wouldn't want to wait till midday or the afternoon as there might be more people around. We've been getting up a decent time since we've been...in this timezone," Hermione smiled. "So that will be fine. We'll have a bite to eat in here and then leave."

"Okay," said Ginny. "We'll leave a lamp dimmed tonight again, will we?"

"I think we've both got used to it now," replied Hermione.

"Tomorrow," said Ginny, more to herself than to her friend.

Hermione found her hand and clasped it. "Tomorrow," Hermione said.

Both girls settled back into their pillows and closed their eyes, hoping for a decent night's sleep to face whatever challenges awaited them when they tackled the problem that was Morfin Gaunt.

She didn't know how long she had been asleep when a dream came to her, but Hermione viewed it with caution. Even though she was aware of dreaming and that she didn't seem to be entering a dream at Hogwarts, she had learned not to feel relief because her dreams of late had a habit of going sour..._zzzzzzz_

Hermione found herself walking along a path, with trees and shrubs either side of her. As she reached the end of the path she came across a dilapidated cottage. _No,_ she thought as she was dreaming it, _not there again_. It was the same ruin of a cottage she had dreamed of before, where everyone from Myrtle to Lupin had accused her of keeping them dead. Except this time she knew it was eerily similar to Gaunt's shack.

She desperately wanted to wake up and go back to sleep from scratch, but as aware of dreams as she was, she couldn't control herself enough to wake up right then. _All right, all right_, she thought, _just get on with it._

Hermione walked up to the cottage as before and walked in straight through the door without knocking. There was the dank, mouldy room again with a few additional dead rats in the corner now. No one seemed to be there this time and after a few moments she walked through the door to the impossible sized kitchen she knew was there in her dream; she highly doubted the Gaunt shack had the same kitchen in real life.

She found the kitchen as before, but Lupin, Tonks and Sirius weren't there, and Harry didn't seem to be lurking in the room for the moment either. She turned to look to one end of the large room and on a bench sitting absolutely silent and still was Ron.

"Ron?" Hermione said, not believing it or knowing why he was there.

The red-haired man looked up when she had spoken; he didn't smile, only stared at her.

"Ron, you're...you're not dead are you?" she asked, knowing that the people she had met in this cottage before were either known to be dead to her, or were dead by the time the Battle of Hogwarts was underway. For a moment Ron just looked at her and she wondered if he would speak at all.

"Would you even care if I was?" he asked after a few moments, in an even, almost cold voice.

"Of course I would care!" said Hermione, her voice raising an octave in disbelief.

"It's hard to tell sometimes," said Ron. "What people really think or feel."

"How can you even think I wouldn't care about you?" she asked.

"We're like chalk and cheese, Hermione," said Ron, looking her directly in the eye. "You're brainy, I'm not. I like quidditch, you don't much. You like easy plain discussions and I have a temper."

"To be fair, I have a temper too, Ron," Hermione interjected.

Ron carried on, almost as if he hadn't heard her. "You see things through, no matter how difficult it becomes, where as I walk out when things are too hard."

"But you always come back, and when it's most vital too!" she said encouragingly.

The red-haired man blinked, then half smiled. "What a glowing reference," he said with a scornful laugh. "Will you put that on my gravestone? 'Walked out on friends, but came back eventually'. I'm just like that scruffy dog patronus I have."

"Why are you saying these things?"

"They have to be said. We're not good for each other. We grate against each other," Ron said, looking down at the floor. "Like broken glass under bare feet. It might be better if I did die, save us the arguments. I always cause you pain whatever I do."

"Ron, no," Hermione said feeling tearful again. "No, don't say these things." He looked up at her and she could see he looked close to tears too. She walked forwards to go to him, wanting to sit next to him and take his hands in hers, but she was only about to take a third step when the floorboards collapsed beneath her and she fell into darkness.

Hermione screamed as she fell, "RON!" She landed heavily onto cold ground, with no idea how far she had descended. Looking up, she could see the jagged shaped hole through which she had fell, and light came down onto her from it. After a moment or two Ron peered over and looked down at her.

"Ron!" she said. "Help me get out of here."

"I told you," he said. "I only cause you pain. You don't believe me? Look what's happened. You wouldn't be down there if not for me."

"I don't care about that," said Hermione. "Help me get out."

"I can't."

"Why can't you?" asked Hermione feeling more panic.

"It's not what I do," Ron mumbled. "I walk out on people and never see things through. That's me. You need someone more worthy. Neville or George maybe."

"I don't want Neville or George!" she yelled back. "I want you, Ron!"

"No you don't, not really," he said softly. "You'll realize it's for the best."

"What's for the best?" Hermione called up to him, but she could no longer see his face peering down at her. "Ron? RON!"

She stopped calling, knowing he had gone. _Bloody stupid dream_, she thought as she was dreaming it. It was deathly quiet now, and all she could hear was her own heart thumping in her chest. _Wait a moment, what was that? _Hermione could hear a light scuffing noise in the dark place she was standing. It made her think of someone dragging a coat across the floor, then she heard a hiss. _Merlin's balls, it's a snake!_

"Help! HELP!" she cried. _You're a witch you idiot, use your wand, like you should have done from the start_, she thought.

Hermione put a hand in her pocket for her wand, then checked both sleeves. _I don't have my wand! Great, just bloody fantastic!_ she thought, hoping she would wake up before she had to face the snake. She saw a pair of eyes glistening and gleaming and coming towards her. It looked like a huge snake, it looked like..._Nagini?_

"HELP!" she shouted again. _Why are you shouting, you twit? No one's up there_, she thought.

On tiptoe with her arms stretched as high as they would go, she could just reach a fingertip to the broken floorboards. If she could jump and hope for her hand to grab on to a floorboard and worry about the splinters later, she thought might be able to haul herself up.

Reaching up again, to judge how much of a jump she would have to try for, she felt the snake around her leg and then she felt the fangs of the snake bite into her ankle. "NO!" she yelled as she was reaching up.

Then quite suddenly a hand came down through the hole and grabbed her wrist and she was levitated almost effortlessly up through the hole. A red light shot past her and she felt the snake leave her ankle and fall away.

Scrabbling over the edge of the floorboards, she was prepared to forgive Ron for everything he had ever said or done that had pissed her off. He was doing what he always would do, come back at the vital time.

Face down on the floorboards, panting, she made to raise herself up. "Ron, I knew you wouldn't...," she stopped in mid sentence. The person standing over the hole, with wand poised ready to strike the snake if they hadn't dealt with it the first time, was not Ron. It was Ginny.

"Ginny?" she asked in surprise. Ron was nowhere to be seen. The redhead turned to her and gave her a grin..._zzzzzzz_

Hermione awoke with a little jump, almost snorting on a sharp intake of breath, as if she had been holding it the whole time she was asleep. She turned carefully, and found her friend asleep and undisturbed by the weird dream Hermione had been having.

_What the hell was all that about? _she thought. _Why is Ron always leaving me, and arguing with me? Yes I know we always argue in real life, but do we have to do it in my dreams too? Is this some cryptic message that he'll walk out on me, soon or in the future? What the hell am I to make of it? Has he died at Hogwarts? Is that what's trying to break across the lines of time? No, please no. Although, it may not happen when we get back to the time we left...hmm. _Hermione settled her breathing back down. _At least Ginny seemed to be useful and didn't argue with me too in that dream. I suppose it's telling me what I already know, I can rely on Ginny. Yes, but why put me through the Ron leaving me down a hole with Nagini scenario? Unless I was thinking about parseltongue hissing and my stupid brain turned it into an actual snake? Arrghhh, I hate dreams lately!_

Annoyed and a little unsettled, Hermione turned over, careful to try and not wake Ginny and tried to get some better quality sleep.

Ginny had been awake for a while, and although she shut her eyes, she couldn't drift off to sleep straight away. She didn't fear dreaming; after the last one she was sure she could face anything, but she didn't want another upsetting and confusing trip to dreamland if she could help it. The redhead felt a little anxious about the next day and all the things they might face. When she did finally find sleep, it came to her unexpectedly, and in no time she felt she had opened her eyes again, except she hadn't; she was dreaming..._zzzzzzz_

Aware that she was sitting, a quick look around confirmed to Ginny that she was at the Burrow again. _Urgh, not another wedding day, I hope,_ she thought as she was dreaming. She was sitting on a saggy sofa in the living room, but no one else was in the room and to her relief there was no long table. _Well this is a bloody boring dream, sitting here by myself._

"Ginny! There you are!"

Ginny jumped at the sound of a voice and spun around to see it was...Harry walking through to her; a very normal looking Harry with no rotting flesh.

"Ah...aren't you dead?" was all she could splutter out. _Brilliant reaction!_ she thought sarcastically to herself.

"Dead?" Harry asked, bewildered. "No. Is there a joke I'm missing?"

"No," said Ginny, unable to stop herself from staring at him. "I just thought...oh, it doesn't matter."

Harry didn't know what to make of the strange interaction between them, but seemed to decide that he would never fully understand women and didn't ask further. He walked to her and took her hands, getting her to stand up.

"Come with me," he said smiling.

"Why?" asked an uncertain Ginny. "Where are we going?"

"You'll see."

With Harry tugging on her hand, she followed and was surprised to find they were going upstairs, and a little disappointed to be taken up to Ron's room.

"What's so special in here?" Ginny asked, as they walked into the room. Harry closed the door behind them and she heard him mutter a locking spell. "Harry? What are you doing?"

"We have the house to ourselves," he said smiling, taking her hands again. "I thought it might be nice to spend some time together."

"If the house is empty, why lock the door in here?"

"We wouldn't want anyone barging in, would we?"

"Wouldn't we?" Ginny frowned, feeling a little uneasy.

The black-haired man wrapped his arms around her waist, pulling her close to him. "So little time," he said. "We've always had so little time to be alone."

"We can't always have what we want," she sighed.

"Can't we? You're all I've ever wanted, for such a long time."

Ginny looked her boyfriend in the eyes and saw him looking back at her hopefully and with desire. _Merlin's saggy balls!_ she thought, _he wants to do _it,_ right now._

"Harry," she said, pulling back a little to look at him better. "I'm not sure this is a good idea."

"I care for you deeply, Ginny. I know you care for me too," he said, his hands rubbing lightly against her back. "We might not get another chance."

"Maybe not, but I don't know why that makes it fine to just go for it now?" Ginny said, feeling flustered.

"Ginny, I'm going to die," said Harry, as calmly as if he had been telling her about the weather. "I don't want to die having never...you know."

Ginny stared at him slightly stunned. _So when the hell is this happening?_ she thought as she was dreaming, _he knows he's going to die? Therefore, the Battle of Hogwarts hasn't happened yet, but he knows he's going to die?_

"I'd never force you Ginny," said Harry softly. "But I thought we felt the same way. I thought it would be nice to have something to always remember."

_He's dead in real life,_ Ginny thought, _I'll never know what it will be like, so what harm is there in dreaming it? So go with it, woman!_ She hoped her dream-self heard her thoughts and didn't wander off or that Harry didn't turn into Draco Malfoy or Professor Slughorn.

The dream-Ginny seemed to be listening, taking a deep breath before she looked back at Harry and nodded, reaching a hand out to touch his cheek, loving the feel of that familiar jaw. They leaned in and kissed. To touch those lips again, to feel, it made the dream-Ginny and the sleeping one feel very emotional.

The dream blurred and Ginny found herself lying on her back on the bed with Harry lying on top of her, kissing her neck. _Oh, why did it have to shift like that?_ she thought frustrated. _I've missed a whole damn section of action! _She was then aware that she could feel skin on skin, and looked down to see that she was bare from the waist up, as was Harry. _Oh for god's sake!_ she thought, _I was looking forward to him struggling with my bra. I've missed that too!_

Lying there and being well and truly 'active' with Harry made her want to laugh and it also made her feel uneasy, although she assumed it was the whole big deal about losing her virginity to him.

Harry kissed her on the lips, the neck and chest, kissed her breasts and gently held them. As he kissed her deeply on the lips again she felt him slide a hand down her body and rest it between her legs. Her hips jumped up, pushing her still jeans-covered mound into his hand. _Now that's more like it,_ she thought. _Ooo yes, that's gooood. _

He undid her jeans and she helped him slide them down, then helped him with his. She could see the bulge in his boxer shorts, and as she helped to slide his jeans down she felt it as her hand brushed past it too. Her mouth went very dry and she felt her hands shake a little. _Don't be so dramatic, woman!_ she thought to herself.

Next to go were their lower underwear. Ginny felt a little self-conscious and suspected she was blushing wildly, as Harry roamed his eyes over her naked figure. She looked at him, and saw his arousal for her.

Harry hovered over her again and she raised up to kiss him; she could feel him brush against her lower stomach. He moved his hands down her body and gently pushed her legs apart a little wider to give him better access. He looked into her eyes and she knew he was about to do it; to enter her, to make love to her properly.

_This isn't right, it doesn't feel right,_ she thought as she was dreaming. It was perhaps one of the most explicit dreams she had ever had, and she was sure she would feel all hot and bothered when she woke up again, but it all felt wrong for some reason. _No, I can't do it. Not even in a dream. Why can't I? What the hell is wrong with me? It's not like I can get pregnant from doing it in a dream, is it? _

"No," said the dream-Ginny.

Harry stopped and looked at her. "It's all right, Ginny," he said soothingly. "I'll try to be as gentle as I can. I don't want to hurt you."

"No," said Ginny again. "I can't."

"You're just nervous," said Harry, smiling. "I am too."

He lowered a hand between her legs and lightly brushed against her most sensitive place. Her hips moved of their own accord, but as nice as it felt she still didn't seem to want to go the whole way with him.

"I'm sorry, Harry," she said. "I can't, I just can't."

Ginny made to move away, feeling dreadful. Both the dream-Ginny and the one watching through her eyes felt so confused. She was sorry to go so far then not any further, sorry to hurt Harry's feelings, frustrated with herself for feeling so puzzled, and baffled by all of it. But she couldn't move, because Harry was hovering over her again, trying to look into her eyes. She could feel his arousal rub against her groin.

"No, Harry," she said, trying to move again. "Please. Let me get up."

"I just want you so badly," Harry said, choked up with emotion. "I don't want to die and never know how it felt to make love with you."

Ginny felt a tear leave the corner of her eye. "I'm sorry. I'm so sorry. I really am. I just can't do it. It's not you, it's me. I don't know, maybe I'm not ready or...I don't know."

"_I'm_ so ready for you," Harry said, as he lowered a hand and guided himself to just outside her entrance. Ginny's breath hitched, as she felt him. He wasn't forcing himself on her, but it was obvious that he was determined he was going to sleep with her. She felt him gently push against her, almost like he was trying to enter her without her barely knowing about it.

"Please Harry, no," Ginny said again.

He reached a hand to her face, and caressed her cheek, and briefly touched his lips to hers, but he gently pushed against her further.

"NO!" Ginny said.

From a slow almost agonizing scene, the dream seemed to suddenly go frantic, when the locked bedroom door burst open, ripping it from one of its hinges.

"I believe she said 'no'!"

Hermione stood just inside the doorway, with her wand out in front of her. She did a quick repelling spell and Harry was flung off Ginny and off the bed, landing on the floor on the other side of the room.

Ginny felt incredibly embarrassed and was all too aware that she laid there like a lump, naked to the world. She scrabbled for the quilt from the bed to cover up and turned to look at Harry.

"Harry, I'm sorry," said Ginny. "I do care about you, I just wasn't ready to...,"

The redhead stopped talking as she watched Harry move from the floor and stand up. He wasn't the same, he looked...dead. He looked similar to how he had in her previous dream. Harry was looking at her sadly.

"I just wanted...," he said, walking towards the bed and reaching a hand out to try and touch her cheek again. However, Ginny flinched and moved further away from him, hugging the quilt around her. He looked over to Hermione, not at all bothered by the fact that he was still completely naked, although his body was in a state of partial decomposition. Harry smiled at her, looked again at Ginny with a sad and regretful expression and vanished.

_Where did he go?_ Ginny thought as she dreamed. _Should I just have slept with him? What have I done? Or, what _haven't _I done? What the hell is wrong with me?_

The dream-Ginny had tears down her face now, utterly overwhelmed and perplexed. Hermione walked over to her and sat next to her on the bed. The brunette opened her arms and hugged her. Ginny returned the hug and felt like she was falling apart..._zzzzzzz_

Ginny woke up as a stifled sob left her lips. As the night before, she had an arm around her, holding her. Hermione was aware that Ginny was awake now, and gave her a little extra squeeze.

"Hey, I'm here, you're all right," Hermione said softly.

That was the problem though, after yet another horrible and emotional dream Ginny didn't feel 'all right'.


	23. You Have to See

23: You Have to See

Ginny was incredibly annoyed, with herself, with her dream, and that she had probably woken up Hermione for the umpteenth time since they arrived in 1943. She took some deep breaths and got some control back from her body which apparently wanted to weep and sob.

"This is bloody ridiculous!" she said, angry.

"I'm guessing you're talking about the dream you had?" asked Hermione in a quiet voice.

"What else?" replied Ginny. She hadn't turned over, because she was so frustated with herself and didn't want to face Hermione, so she stayed on her side. Hermione kept a comforting arm around her.

"Did you see Harry again?"

"Yes. In a manner of speaking," answered Ginny, she blushed as she thought of Harry and herself naked. _I saw more of him than I thought I would_, she thought. _And in the end I didn't want to see him at all._

"You don't have to tell me anything," said Hermione. "But if it helps, I'm here to listen."

"It's difficult," Ginny said, feeling embarrassed.

"Well, if it's any help," said the brunette. "I had a stupid confusing dream tonight as well."

"You did?"

"Yeah." As strange as her dream had been Hermione thought it would help if she told her friend about it. It would make Ginny feel more comfortable perhaps. "I was back in that cottage I dreamed of the other night, which I now recognize as...HQ... No one was in there this time except for Ron. He said a lot of odd things and I was going to go to him, when I fell through the floorboards. Ron refused to help me and walked off."

"He left you?"

"I know, it's not nice, but that's how our dreams have been lately," Hermione continued. "Then I realized You Know Who's snake was down there with me and was starting to wrap around my leg and then it bit me. I thought of jumping up to try and pull myself out of the hole, when a hand grabbed my wrist and pulled me out, cursed the snake and saved me."

"So Ron came back?" Ginny asked.

"No," Hermione said. "_You_ pulled me out and got rid of the snake."

"Me?" said Ginny, astonished.

"Yeah you. It's not a surprise really, because my goodness you're as good as any of the Order, but I hate it that Ron keeps leaving me and telling me that he and I aren't supposed to be together."

"I know it's only a dream again," said Ginny. "But can I apologize for the dream version of my brother causing you so much anguish?"

Hermione laughed. "You can, but I suspect it won't stop him from continuing to keep doing the same thing in my future dreams."

Neither of them spoke for a couple of minutes and Hermione wondered if Ginny had fallen asleep again, when she felt the other girl give a sort of resigned sigh.

"I was at the Burrow," Ginny began, and went on to tell Hermione about Harry taking her upstairs and locking the door. "It seems he was determined we would sleep together, there and then."

"That's fast!"

"Yeah. He said he knew he was going to die but didn't want to die having never...you know...slept with me."

"How did you react to that?" asked Hermione.

"I know you're the same, and that you can think while you dream...so I was a little shocked, but then thought it _was_ just a dream, I'd never know what it would have been like and that I ought to just do it." Ginny still didn't move, to hide her embarrassment.

"So did you...do it?"

"We got naked," Ginny said with a nervous chuckle. "And he was about to...well...you know..."

"Put the car into the garage?" offered Hermione.

"What?" Ginny laughed.

"Old phrase," Hermione laughed softly. "All right, he was about enter you...that better?"

"Not much," said Ginny, sure her ears were maroon by now and her cheeks with it. "Anyway, it was then the dream-me and me-me suddenly felt wrong and I didn't want to do it. I don't know what it was. I told Harry no."

"Did he listen?" Hermioine asked warily, wondering and hoping against hope that her late best friend hadn't raped Ginny, even if it was only in a dream. The real Harry would never do something like that, but their dreams of late had been so twisted she was prepared to hear anything.

"Not really," said the redhead, sighing deeply again. She felt Hermione hug her a little tighter and knew what she was thinking. "No, he didn't force me, it wasn't like that," she said quickly. "But he was sort of trying to do it, almost as if I wouldn't notice and then if I did I'd just go along with it. I...I still said no. He wasn't nasty...not at all, he was very sad and it made me feel bad."

"You should never feel bad about something like that," said Hermione. "It's a serious thing, even in a dream. If you say 'no', then it should mean no. So what did he do? Did he let you go?"

"Er, no...he still wasn't exactly forcing me, but he was desperate to change my mind, then the door burst open."

"Was it your mum or dad?"

"No, it was _you_," Ginny said.

"Me?"

"Yes, you used your wand and he was flung off me across the room. But then he...when he stood up again, he was...dead...like he was the other night in my dream."

"I'm so sorry," Hermione said.

"He was really sad still, and tried to reach out and touch me again, but I got back out of his way and he vanished," said Ginny, her voice getting softer and quieter. "I feel bad about not doing _it_ and why I didn't and all manner of things that don't make sense."

"Our dreams have been really awful," Hermione said. "I just wish we could sleep in peace. But on the bright side at least we borrowed each other to rescue us from our dramas."

Ginny gave a soft little laugh. "Nice to know, isn't it?"

"I'll try not barge into a room in real life while you're..._doing_ things in future, though," said Hermione. "I wouldn't want you to hex me for interrupting anything."

"My dream _needed_ interrupting," said Ginny, then after a pause she added. "I've never had such a...a...hot dream, where I felt everything like that."

"It might have been my fault, a little," said Hermione.

"How do you figure that one?"

"That foot massage I gave you."

"Oh, I suppose."

"I've been wondering about our dreams a lot," said Hermione. "I've thought about the journey we've made across time. I'm wondering if it's possible the physical stress of that, mixed with the horrors we've endured lately have resulted in these bizarrely troubling dreams."

"It might be part of the cause," said Ginny. "Why are both Harry and Ron almost repelling us in these dreams? Harry seems to want me, but he's not him, and is gruesome...although I suppose that might be my mind saying I can't possibly have him because I know he's...gone."

"I've considered that I'm feeling guilty about Ron," said Hermione with a sigh. "And my dreams are twisting those feelings to sting me back."

"Guilty?"

"I'll admit that it wasn't long after we got to Godric's Hollow that I began to have these thoughts," admitted Hermione, but she went silent again.

"What kind of thoughts?" said Ginny. "I don't mean to pry, you don't have to tell me."

"The kind of thoughts where I was glad it wasn't him here and it was you. The sort of thoughts where I knew if he were here it would be much more of a risk and that he and I would always be fighting and never manage to even work out a plan for anything. I've spent weeks and weeks with him, I know how capable he is and what a true heart he has, but...I'm glad he isn't the 'Weasley' with me," Hermione's voice dropped. "It's awful isn't it?"

"I don't think so," answered Ginny. "Putting aside my own feelings on what I think of Ron," she chuckled. "You're just being honest. From the start, before you even knew what McGonagall wanted you to do, you decided not to tell Ron anything. You knew from that moment that you wouldn't be able to work with him on a potential task like this."

"What does that say about our future?" said a glum Hermione. "Providing we _do_ have a future in the broader spectrum of things, to go back to?"

"I can't answer that," said Ginny, resting her hand on top of Hermione's, which was still wrapped around her. "Only you can know what you really feel about him. I don't think you'll know for sure until, or _if_ we get back. These dreams don't make things clearer, that's for sure."

"I think I'm going to try getting some more sleep," said Hermione. "We have bigger issues to deal with in the morning."

Hermione made to remove her arm from around her friend to turn over onto her other side, but Ginny's hand stopped her, by holding onto her hand.

"You're more comfy, like this?" asked Hermione.

"Um...well...yes, a bit more secure," said Ginny. "Are you okay with it?"

"No problem," said Hermione, as she settled her head onto her pillow behind her friend. If she had swallowed some veritaserum and been asked what she really thought, she would have been unable to answer anything other than 'I feel more secure like this too'.

As with previous nights, the torture of their initial dreams left them to sleep relatively peacefully thereafter.

XXXXXXXXXX

Hermione was awake first in the morning, for a change; her bladder was telling her she needed the loo. As she began to move she saw that in the night Ginny had rolled onto her back and Hermione was snuggled up against her side, still with an arm draped over her. The brunette wanted to laugh at the cuteness of it, and then felt very thankful that it wasn't at the Burrow or the Gryffindor Dormitory where someone with a camera could have caused a lot of embarrassment. _Harry and Ron were close, _she thought, _but I bet they never snuggled at night! Blimey, Fred and George would have tormented us about it forever. Fred..._

She shook her head as she carefully rose from the bed, not wanting to dwell on the dead and make herself depressed. Today of all days she needed to be sharp. When Hermione got back from the bathroom, Ginny was then stirring.

"You're up before me today, I see?" said the redhead, stretching and suppressing a little yawn.

"You slept better when you dropped off again?" asked Hermione

"Yeah, much better. You?"

"I don't remember any other dreams, so a definite improvement than earlier in the night."

"What are you having for breakfast?" asked Ginny

"I think there was a little cheese and tomato quiche in the box," said Hermione. "Want to half it with me?"

"Sounds good."

As Hermione brought out their picnic box, Ginny took one of the flasks and poured them out a tea, each. Neither felt very hungry, but they knew they had to eat something with the morning they had planned. Hermione cut up a pear and they had half each to finish up with. After that, they went across to the bathroom to freshen up and brush their teeth, before laying out their uniforms to wear.

Ginny sat on the edge of the bed, she had pulled on her trousers, and was about to think about putting on her shirt, when she stopped. She held the garment in her hands, staring at it; it was Harry's shirt. "Hermione," she said. "Do you have another shirt in your bag? You did pack the other one, didn't you?"

"Yes. Why, is that one dirty or pongy?"

"No," said Ginny. "I...can't explain it, but I'm not sure I want to wear this one again for the moment. I don't want to be distracted and the last couple of dreams I've had about him...it's just made me...I don't know."

"I understand," said Hermione, knowing that Ginny, having originally wanted to have Harry with her, now found him too confusing and wasn't sure she wanted something so close to him close to her. The brunette put a hand into her beaded bag and found the other WAAF shirt, neatly folded. "We'll keep this safe still," she said, taking Harry's shirt and carefully folding it before putting it into her bag. Hermione suspected that Ginny wouldn't want to wear Harry's T'Shirt again to sleep in either, but that was another thought for the night.

The two women were dressed now, but both decided that even if it was a cold day, they wouldn't wear their greatcoats for the actual plan. The coats were bulky and heavy, and if they needed to be nimble at any moment it would affect them. However they were going to wear them to leave The Hanged Man, then put them away in Hermione's bag before they turned off the main track to the woodland. It would leave less questions about where they might have packed a coat, as it was unlikely there was room in their gas mask bags.

They both put their wands up their jacket sleeves, finding the loops inside them, used to button back the sleeves, an excellent holster, and they kept the wands out of sight too.

They did a quick check of the room to make sure they hadn't left anything, even looking under the bed in case something had strayed under there. That left only one thing to be done before they left the room.

Hermione reached into her beaded bag and pulled out the pouch that held the fake Ring. She opened one of the chest pockets of her uniform jacket and placed it in there before buttoning the pocket back up. "We need that near at hand," she said. "If something...happens unexpectedly you know where it is too."

Ginny nodded, as Hermione put the beaded bag in her pocket, making sure Ginny knew which pocket it was in, before they both put on their greatcoats, picked up their gas mask bags, donned their much disliked hats and left the room.

There was no one at the bar when they walked through, so Hermione called through to the back. "Hello?"

Ada Massey came through. "Morning girls," she said.

"We're leaving, now," Hermione said. "Thank you, we had a lovely stay."

"Glad to hear it," Ada said smiling, as she got Hermione to sign out in a little book. "Where are you headed now?"

"A bit further on from here," said Hermione, politely and deliberately vague.

"If you're ever in the area again, you're welcome to stay here again," said the woman. Her husband John poked his head around the door at the back to wave a goodbye at them.

"We'll remember," said Hermione, thinking to herself, _Of course we'll be welcome, we're paying for it!_

"All the best then girls," said Ada.

Ginny and Hermione smiled back and said 'goodbye', and happily walked out, feeling relieved to have got over that potential hurdle. It had gone 9.30am as they walked a little way down the street leisurely, before either of them spoke.

"I never thought," said Hermione suddenly. "Are you going to use your fist, or something else to do the...deed?"

"Fist," said Ginny. "If I use something else, I would probably have more risk of over-doing it."

"That's going to hurt."

"I know," said the redhead with a grin. "But hey-ho, no pain no gain, right?"

"True," Hermione replied before she did a little chuckle. "It was certainly the case when I punched Malfoy. That was _so_ worth it!"

Ginny laughed. "That was a bloody brilliant decision."

The morning was brighter than the previous couple of days, with the sun trying to break through the clouds. It wasn't a lot warmer, but neither was it freezing cold or blowing a gale.

For a long while they comfortably walked along in silence, both lost in thoughts, and taking in the views of the village. They reached the edge of the village again, with the church on their left and the woods up ahead, and the track nearby.

"I think," Hermione began."We should Disapparate whatever happens today."

"You're certain?" asked Ginny. "We were told it might bring goodness knows what trouble down on us."

"Yes, I know," replied Hermione. "But if we're going to our safe house nothing can happen. We'll have done the task and it won't matter if something magical is set off because we'll be long gone."

"All right," said Ginny. "It's actually nice to know, because I didn't fancy having to run for it, if it could be helped."

"If something odd happens we might still have to run first, but yes, we do have more of a safety blanket by getting out of the area super-quick."

The two women looked around them, checking to see if anyone was out and about at this end of the village, or were looking their way with interest. Relieved to see they were unobserved, they crossed the lane and began to walk along the track.

Their hearts had started to beat faster with each step. Although they didn't yet know the significance of getting the Resurrection Stone, they knew that it was important and the things that might possibly be at stake for so many people if they failed. It was perhaps better that neither of them knew the purpose of getting the Stone, because it would only have added to the pressure.

It had been just yesterday when they had walked along this track and found the first small path turning off from it, but every step today felt slow and the distances walked felt twice a long. They walked along the overgrown path and reached the part where it turned and led along to the shack.

Hermione stopped and they took off their greatcoats and placed them in her bag, but Hermione didn't immediately move on again.

"Anything wrong?" asked Ginny in almost a whisper.

"No," said Hermione. "Just bracing myself, getting my mind clear."

"Okay," said Ginny. "Remember what the plan is. I go to the side, you go to the door and knock. You lure him out...just a couple of steps out the door should be enough. I knock him out, we change the ring and get the hell out of there like cats with our tails on fire."

Hermione smiled. "Yup, that's about it." She didn't walk on just yet, though; she took a deep breath, closed her eyes a moment, before nodding to Ginny. "Let's do this, shall we?"

"I'm ready," said Ginny, although her stomach would have said otherwise as she felt butterflies and the possibility of a mad feral cat or two in there.

Carefully and as quietly as possible they edged their way along the path towards the shack. As they reached the part where the path widened they moved to the side into the shrubs again. Crouching down as they had done before, they viewed the shack, with Hermione getting an odd sense of déja vu on viewing the place again.

The two young women waited a few minutes to see if anyone was moving about or for any movement of any kind; or to sense if anything else was going on. Nearly ten minutes of observation proved the area to be untouched and even the dead snake on the front door wasn't moving, thanks to the wind having dropped overnight.

Hermione got hold of Ginny's hand, and squeezed it. They looked at each other and nodded determinedly at each other, before Hermione stood up and walked out into the open towards the shack.

Ginny edged along the shrubs, slightly to the side and scurried to the side of the door as Hermione approached it.

Hermione looked at the dead snake nailed to the door and grimaced with disgust at it. Again, she closed her eyes for a second, looked to the side to Ginny, who gave her a little thumbs-up sign, her wand in her other hand, ready just in case.

_Here goes, _thought Hermione. _If he kills me on the spot, well so be it, I've tried. I just hope Ginny gets herself out of here if that happens._

Hermione put her arm out in front of her, the hand in a tight fist as she hovered over the place on the door she was going to knock on. She exhaled a quick breath and banged her knuckles hard against the wood for a rap of four knocks. The noise sounded eerily deafening in the quietness of the surrounding woods. It seemed to silence even the rooks.

There was no sound of movement within the shack. After a minute she looked at Ginny, not knowing what to do. _Gaunt stays at the shack, he doesn't go anywhere, _she thought. _Please don't let this be the day he finally decides to go for a long walk._

Ginny tilted her head and nodded at the door, suggesting Hermione knock again. The brunette did, and this time she knocked harder, hurting her knuckles in doing so. There was a growling sound from within. She mouthed the word 'dog' to Ginny, but the redhead shook her head. There were some more nondescript noises and then the distinct sound of heavy footsteps over the floor.

_Oh shit,_ Hermione thought, _oh shit, oh shit, oh shit! _

The door shook as if something had been banged against it, and then very suddenly it flew open and Hermione was faced with the visage of Morfin Gaunt. The first thing Hermione noticed about him was not his ragged appearance and almost skeletal structure, it was the smell. The smell was like old sweaty socks, boiled in urine, then smoked in an old shed with rotten fish. Hermione nearly wanted to cough to prevent a retch, but she knew she didn't have time to think, she had to act straight away.

Morfin hissed at her, and it sounded a bit like, _"sssseee yorrrsss sheeniisss narrrssssii", _and it was said in a way that made it certain that she wasn't welcome.

"You must see!" she said in a high voice, as if distressed and highly strung, while waving an arm around and pointing behind her. "It's over there. Look...LOOK. You must see!"

Morfin snarled at her. "Sssstupid girl," he said.

Hermione was surprised to hear him speak English, even if it _was_ laced heavily with a parseltongue accent.

"AWAY!" he yelled at her. "_Hassss nassss veessshhhna!_" He looked like he was about to slam the door.

"NO!" Hermione persisted, actually putting a foot onto the door's threshold to stop it from being closed, even though her body and mind were telling her to run. "You must see. YOU HAVE TO SEE! OVER THERE!" She waved and pointed and was nearly jumping up and down frantically to get his attention focused.

Morfin peered at her from under thick eyebrows, his eyes as wild as the rest of him, but he definitely seemed to have a pinprick of interest and understood that he was supposed to see something, something that this ridiculous muggle scum was excited about.

"COME OUT HERE!" she said. "You HAVE to see, over there!"

It seemed to work, as Morfin edged his weight forward just slightly, enough for Hermione to notice the forward movement. _Come on,_ she thought, _move forwards, please._

"Please! You have to look! LOOK!" she said. And with that last attempt Morfin Gaunt moved a step forward, trying to peer past Hermione to see if he could see beyond her to whatever it was and not have to leave his door.

Hermione backed away a couple of steps, almost like she was coaxing him step by step to move towards her and whatever she was trying to point out.

Morfin growled something, which sounded neither English nor parseltongue, but that didn't stop the old man walking two steps forwards. Hermione willed herself not to look to Ginny, because Morfin was studying her, and if she flicked her eyes, he might follow to see what she was looking at.

Thankfully Ginny didn't need any prompting, as soon as the Gaunt man started to move a step, she had poised herself.


	24. The Switch

**A/N: I didn't want you clinging on to that cliffhanger for too long. ;) Although, you might curse me again after this chapter. :)**

24: The Switch

It felt like a true game of cat and mouse, or certainly setting bait for a monster, with Hermione being the bait.

With the third step Morfin Gaunt made towards Hermione, Ginny had stepped forwards and with the extra momentum and weight shift she was able to punch the man on the side and back of his head hard. He didn't slump to the ground immediately and turned groggily to see what the blue blur was at the corner of his eye.

Scared and full of adrenalin Ginny hit him again, and this time he crumpled to the ground, out cold. Ginny was hopping on the spot holding her right hand and grimacing, but quickly tried to forget the pain and joined Hermione as the brunette was crouched near Gaunt, checking the man's neck for a pulse and relieved to have found one.

"Are you okay, Ginny?" Hermione asked.

"Yeah, I think I might have broken a bone in my hand, but it's nothing we need to worry about now, lets get this switch done," said Ginny, who then wrinkled up her nose. "Bloody hell he stinks!"

"I know," said Hermione. "It's awful. It's really kind of sad. He should be in St. Mungo's or somewhere."

"I'm finding it really hard to feel much compassion, I think I'd feel sorry for his nurses."

Hermione got hold of one of Morfin's hands and there was no ring on the hand. "It must be on the hand your side," she said.

Ginny had to almost brace herself to even touch the old man, but at arm's length she picked up Gaunt's wrist to look at the hand and there on his index finger was a gold banded ring with a large unusual shaped stone, which had the Deathly Hallows symbol on it. "Got it!" she said.

Hermione went over to her side. "Excellent! Take it off."

Gripping the Ring on the shoulders of the band, Ginny tried to slide it off the man's finger; a finger that was grubby and topped by a fingernail caked with dirt. She tried to turn the ring and get it to slide but it was almost embedded into the fleshy lower part of the finger.

"It's stuck," Ginny said.

"Blast!" Hermione paused for a moment thinking. "I know!" She pulled out her beaded bag and retrieved from it, a bottle of red bubblebath.

"Did you take that from Godric's Hollow?" asked Ginny, mildly amused.

"Take? That's a strong word," said Hermione, rightly abashed. "I just liked it. I'm sure he won't mind."

Ginny gave a little snort of laughter, and watched as Hermione put a small blob of the bubblebath onto the old man's finger and greased the digit. She then tried to turn the Ring and after a second or two it did start to move. With a little more effort she was able to remove the Ring without her fear of nearly dislocating the finger joint in the process.

Hermione held up the Ring, not quite believing that she held the real Resurrection Stone, another Hallow. A huge part of her didn't like to touch it, and she opened her chest pocket and brought out the pouch with the fake ring and gave it to Ginny.

"Take out the ring," she told Ginny. "Try to get it onto his finger, in the place the other one was."

Hermione took the pouch back and placed the real Ring into it, and put it back into her chest pocket. She knew it wouldn't be the same as having a horcrux close to her body, but she didn't like having such close possession of the Stone either.

Ginny struggled a little, but pushed the ring onto Morfin Gaunt's finger. "It looks identical to the real Ring," she said. "I didn't believe it really, but seeing it? My god, this is serious!"

"I know," Hermione said. "It's very serious." She drew out a tissue and wiped every last remnant of the bubblebath from the man's finger. She hadn't used enough for it to smell much, the man's odour would cover anything. "Yuck, I'll have to take this with us," she said as she put the tissue into another one and placed it into a pocket with disgust.

"Can we go now?" Ginny asked, wanting to get away as fast as they could. She finally took off her hat and stuffed it into her gas mask bag.

Hermione stood up. "Yes, let's. We'll both Disapparate back to Godric's Hollow. Or do you want me to Side-Along Apparate you?"

"No, I'm fine getting myself there," said Ginny.

"See you there. I'll wait a fraction of a second to make sure you've Disapparated then do the same," Hermione smiled to her friend, longing for the safety of Dumbledore's house, the cooking of the Hogwarts house-elves and the comfort of a safe bed. _And a bath!_

They both stood and Hermione nodded to Ginny and just as Ginny Disapparated a fraction before Hermione was going to, something wrapped around the brunette's leg. She stopped and looked down and was shocked to find Morfin Gaunt conscious again and gripping her leg.

Hermione tried to kick free of him, but his grip was vice-like, which didn't seem possible in such an old man as him.

Morfin started to snarl and hiss at Hermione._ "Veeessshhnaa ssssiiiinaa."_

"GET OFF!" Hermione shouted.

She had no choice now, she had to use magic to get away. _A simple _stupefy _spell should be enough_, she thought and then she could Disapparate. Hermione directed her wand and Morfin stared at her and the wand.

"Lassshhhhna eeesssss nassssiiiimaaa." Gaunt, in gripping Hermione's leg, had pushed up the leg of her trousers and now sank his teeth into her, just above the ankle.

"Arghh! Bugger off!" Hermione said, yelling in exasperation and pain_. "Stupefy!" _Morfin Gaunt was flung back a few feet to his doorway and seemed to be knocked out again. She straightened her clothes and was about to Disapparate again.

"Now that wasn't a nice thing to do, was it?"

Hermione spun around to be faced by...John Massey, the landlord from The Hanged Man, without his drooping cigarette for once. She felt fixed to the spot in surprise, not expecting anyone to come this way.

"It's none of your business," she said, trying to hide her wand, hoping the landlord hadn't seen her use magic and thought she had punched or kicked Gaunt away.

"Oh but it is," said John. "I look out for Morfin, here."

"You do?"

"Yes. A favour to a friend. He told me old Morfin might have a visitor sometime. I didn't think it would be a pair of girls. Where did your friend go?"

"How did you know we were coming here?" asked Hermione, avoiding answering where Ginny was.

"I didn't, but there are ways of knowing things."

Hermione gripped her wand behind her back.

"Oh there's no point trying to hide your wand, girlie. I've seen it already." He smiled at her surprised reaction. "Not quite like mine, but they're all different, aren't they?"

"You're...you're...a,"

"Wizard? I wouldn't use that term really. I'm not very convential or particularly well-trained...more freelance."

As if to prove the point John Massey drew his wand and shot out a curse so fast Hermione didn't see it coming. She tried to dodge to the side, but the spell caught her, and sliced through the sleeve of her uniform and scratched the flesh beneath. She was too shocked to shout out in pain, and almost didn't feel it, as she pointed and threw her own spell at the Massey man. He dodged the curse, faster than she would expect of a man his age. He laughed; it was a confident laugh of someone who had never lost a duel or feared losing.

_I wonder if Ginny Disapparating caused a magical alarm to be set off?_ Hermione thought. _Massey was here and saw me cast off Morfin, so it can't have been the _stupefy _spell I used._ If only she had guessed about John, she could have Disapparated herself, without him getting a word in. She wouldn't have had to worry about hiding things from a muggle and it would all be fine. Now though, she would have to duel this man for a little while.

Hermione threw another spell at John which he blocked in one easy movement, and somehow rebounded the spell to her, which bowled her over onto the ground. He quickly threw another curse at her, before she had time to respond and she could only try to roll away, but the spell cut into her leg leaving a small nick.

She considered just Disapparating there and then, but it worried her if he attempted to try and follow; after all the mess at the Ministry when Ron, Harry and herself were nearly caught and Ron got splinched, she didn't want to risk compromising the safety of Godric's Hollow or Ginny.

Hermione struggled to her feet and used a _stupefy_ spell followed quickly by a hopeful _expelliarmus._ But none connected with her fast-dodging target. She couldn't risk using a really harmful curse, because like everything on this mission, she couldn't leave behind something as serious as maiming or killing someone who never originally got maimed or killed in 1943.

Thinking as fast as she could, she directed an _incendio_ spell at his feet, to set fire to the twigs there. This did take him by surprise and he had to jump away from the flames and put out the smouldering of one of his feet. Hermione repeated the localized spell several more times, but never got to take aim with something better when he was trying not to get burned. He was back near a tree now, so she took the moment to charm a branch to come around and whack him. Finally, her opponent was winded and had fallen to his knees once the tree's branch had retreated again.

_Now_, she thought, _go now._ _But not to Godric's Hollow...not yet. Too risky._

"Oh no you don't!" yelled the winded John Massey. "I'm to keep you until young Tom can get here himself. Whether that's days or weeks!" He flung another curse at her, a body-binding one which she was able to parry.

She took her moment to Disapparate, choosing the only place she could think of for her destination; oddly the place that came to her first was a secluded spot in the churchyard of Great Hangleton. _It will have to do_, she thought at terrific speed. _At least there's several miles between here and there and I can go on from there._

Just as Hermione was Disapparating, John Massey threw another curse, whipping both his wand arm and free arm forwards at her as he shouted a defiant "NOOO!"

Hermione felt something thud against her stomach and chest, winding her. It was only as she Apparated into an overgrown, shrubby corner of Great Hangleton's churchyard that she felt the pain. Looking down as she sat, sprawled in the bushes, she saw that there were two pieces of wood, pieces of branch, embedded in her jacket, one to the top right of her chest and one to the lower right side of her stomach...then she saw the blood. As the exhaustion of her duel and the shock and state of her injuries made her feel sleepy, she fell back and closed her eyes. _Never trust a skinny landlord! _she thought.

XXXXXXXXX

Ginny Apparated in the back garden of Dumbledore's house in Godric's Hollow, letting out a huge sigh of relief to be away from the filthy, crazy old man. Looking around the garden she saw a gnome peering out from behind a shrub to stare at her. It made her laugh, so happy she was to be somewhere safe again and more homely.

Hermione hadn't appeared yet, and it was after a couple of minutes that Ginny wondered where she was. _I thought she was Disapparating just after me?_ _Maybe she dropped something and had to pick it up?_

The red-haired girl waited in the back garden, and waited...and waited. Ginny felt a shiver of fear and worry course through her body. _Something's wrong,_ she thought, _she should be here by now._

Ginny wasn't sure how long she had been in Dumbledore's back garden, but she thought it had probably been close to ten or fifteen minutes, or more by now.

"What do I do?" she said out loud to herself.

She went into the house, through the scullery to the kitchen, having no problem getting in as she didn't have to deal with Humphrey for that door. Almost ripping off her tiresome gas mask bag, she sat on a chair and put her head in her hands.

_What do I do?_ she thought. _Do I go back? What if I arrive in the middle of something, it could make things worse. What if Hermione's hurt, I can't leave her there! I might have to for now, though. Shit, what do I do?_

Optimistic and hopeful, Ginny got up and walked out to the back garden again, expecting to see Hermione looking around and wondering where her friend had got to. There was nothing there, not even a gnome was visible in the overgrown garden now.

Ginny went back inside again and went to the study, hoping a place of books would give her some inspiration. Sitting at the desk, she leaned on her elbows, with her head in her hands again.

_Do I go back to Little Hangleton? Maybe Hermione had to use the back-up plan, using one of the tracks, and got back to the village? No, she would have Apparated here as soon as she was clear. _Then another thought hit her, _Bollocks! She has the real Ring AND the Time-Turner! Think woman THINK! _

Ginny Weasley was good at retaining information and she racked her brains, going over all their conversations as they had planned their journey and actions, weighing up the situation and her limited options. _I have no choice, _she thought, _I have to talk to Dumbledore._

The only calm and sensible option she had, meant that Ginny would have to communicate with Kendra's portrait, but in her current state it didn't bother her too much. She was desperate to do something and find out what had happened to Hermione. The way she felt now, she would do anything she had to, in order to help that cause.

Climbing the stairs, her legs almost shaking from apprehension and fear, Ginny pushed open the door to the third bedroom and walked into it, turning and not being surprised to find Kendra Dumbledore's portrait empty.

Ginny walked up to the portrait. "Mrs. Dumbledore? Can I talk to you, please?" she asked politely. There was no reply and no sound of the woman's robes rustling. It seemed to add to Ginny's fear and she felt a lump in her throat and tears build in her eyes.

"Mrs. Dumbledore?" she called again. "I need your help. Please?" Ginny still heard no sound, and resignedly leaned her head forward, resting it against the portrait, a tear rolling down her cheek. It was a tear of desperation, fear, sadness and another half a dozen emotions.

"PLEASE!" she yelled. "Someone bloody answer me!"

"All right, no need to swear abuse at me!" said Kendra Dumbledore as she walked into her portrait.

Ginny backed away from the frame so she could see Kendra more clearly. "I've been calling for you, where the hell have you been?" she said angry and frustrated.

"If you can't be civil, then I'll leave again," said Kendra, pompously, turning as if to walk out of her frame again.

"NOOO!" shouted Ginny. "No, please no. I'm sorry, I didn't mean it...I..."

Kendra actually looked at the girl in front of her properly for the first time and she noticed genuine distress. "What is it?" she asked. "What's wrong?"

"I need to talk to Professor Dumbledore," said Ginny, calming her breaths.

"I believe he told you he couldn't keep coming back every time," replied Kendra.

"I know," Ginny said, looking down at her feet. "But this is serious. Something has gone really wrong. I don't know what to do next. I need his help, badly...urgently! It's Hermione."

Kendra Dumbledore narrowed her eyes as she studied Ginny. "I'll talk to him," she said. "It might be an hour or more before I get back, because he's in class at the moment."

"An hour?" Ginny looked up.

"He can't just drop everything, Miss Weasley, you know that. But I'll talk to him as soon as I can."

Ginny nodded. "Thank you."

Kendra moved to walk out of her portrait, but then stopped before disappearing out of the frame. "Get yourself a cup of tea," she said to Ginny. "Whatever has happened, you can do nothing more yet. A cuppa really helps at times like these." And with that, the woman left.

Ginny's mind went back over the last few days, where she and Hermione had shared tea from their flasks and lived by the same philosophy of a cup of tea helping any situation. She thought about yesterday, as they sat and had some fudge with their tea.

_Stop it,_ she thought. _You're only making yourself worse. You can only deal with each thing as it happens. Don't obsess and get depressed over things you don't yet know. _Ginny didn't even dare think it, but a little part of her subconscious was considering the worst case scenario, of Hermione having been killed. To admit to that would lead to dark thoughts around not knowing how to find her and the Ring and Time-Turner. And to allows _those_ thoughts, would lead to the notion of being stuck in 1943.

Taking the advice of Dumbledore's mother, Ginny went down to the kitchen again and almost in an automatic mode, made herself a cup of tea. It was as she was lifting the kettle to pour hot water into the teapot that she nearly dropped the kettle.

For the first time since it had happened, Ginny felt the pain in her right hand, from having punched Morfin Gaunt. Her knuckles were going a red-purple and were swollen, and she could feel the pain from where she thought she might have broken a bone.

"What was his head made from? Stone?" she said out loud.

As Hermione still had her beaded bag, Ginny didn't have any access to dittany, not that she was sure it would heal broken bones inside anyway. Sighing she went back to making some tea, using her left hand instead. A cup in hand, she made her way heavy-legged back up to the spare bedroom where she sat down, staring at the empty portrait and feeling almost numb.

_If I had only let Hermione Apparate both of us, then I'd know what's happened. I'd have been there with her and faced whatever it is that has delayed her,_ she thought. _What ifs are worth nothing! _she scolded herself.

An hour and a half had passed, in which Ginny's heart rate had calmed a little and although her mind wasn't in perfect working order, she felt a bit more resolute and stronger.

After nearly two hours in total, in which Ginny hadn't dared to move from her chair, Kendra Dumbledore reappeared.

"Miss Weasley?" she called to the red-haired girl, who sat with an elbow on her knee and her chin resting on that hand, as she stared at the wall blankly.

Ginny's head whipped round. "Yes?" she said, getting up to face the portrait.

"I've spoken with my son," Kendra said. "He understands the situation, but he can not visit until early this evening."

"What? I need to see him as soon as possible!" Ginny said flabbergasted and feeling a tinge of desperation again.

"I know that, and _he_ knows that," said Kendra in a soft voice. "But he said his circumstances do not allow him to come earlier. He _will_ see you, just try to be patient."

"Right," said Ginny dejectedly. "Well, thank you," she remembered to say. She wasn't sure how many more times she might have to deal with Mrs. Dumbledore and as the woman herself had said, 'manners didn't cost anything'.

"Get yourself something to eat, dear," said Kendra in a voice that surprised Ginny. The older woman in the portrait sounded genuinely concerned. "Whatever has happened you need to keep _your_ strength up, yes?"

Ginny just nodded, thinking that it was something her own mother would say and probably even Hermione would have said it too.

"I'll leave you now," said Mrs. Dumbledore. "I hope my son is able to help you."

"Thank you," Ginny said again.

The portrait of Kendra gave a warm smile and walked out of her picture again. As odd as it would sound to say it, Ginny felt a pull of sadness and loneliness when Mrs. Dumbledore left. _Merlin's pants, I must be desperate if I felt I wanted _her_ to stay!_ thought Ginny. _Come on, you're better than that._

With the fiery resolve of the Weasley family running hot through her veins, Ginny left the bedroom, making her way downstairs. In the sitting room she looked at the clock. It was well past one o'clock in the afternoon. _Let's get some lunch, _she thought.

Taking off her uniform jacket and laying it on one of the armchairs she walked through to the kitchen and the pantry. _Great, I don't have any other clothes either,_ she thought. She was pleased to find that fresh food was still being taken to the house each day; unless as soon as Dumbledore knew she was back at his house he had sent the elves there and then. Either way she was glad that the pantry was as well stocked as it had been when they had left on Sunday.

Ginny got the range stove fired up and working again, and deciding not to use too much magic she heated up a chicken casserole. Although she still didn't have an appetite and couldn't seem to totally shake the nervousness she had, she did enjoy her lunch. Afterwards she washed up the plates and cutlery the slow muggle way, hoping to take up some time.

Everything in the house seemed to echo and rattle, making her more aware that she was alone. It was a strange choice she decided to take, but she walked to the front door and opened it. Humphrey's eyes looked at her. He had the key back in his mouth, so Ginny got hold of it and used the _relashio_ spell. Thankfully the iron phoenix door knocker didn't keep hold of the key, as Ginny had come from the house and was already inside it.

"Ah, that's so much better," said Humphrey snapping his beak a couple of times as a person would smack their lips. "So what do ya want?"

"I just came to say hello," said Ginny, not quite believing that her nervous disposition had led her to seeking out a conversation with the awkward door knocker.

"Hello," said Humphrey in a funny tone.

"Smart arse!" said Ginny.

"I don't have an arse. I'm a door knocker," it replied.

Then a thought occurred to her. "Has anyone else tried to get into the house?"

"When? This week, last week, last month, last year?"

Ginny gave an annoyed groan. "Since we left a few days ago, up until today?"

"Well, why dint ya say that? Gawd, if you don't ask the right questions how can I answer 'em?"

"Has anyone been here since we left, then?"

"No," said Humphrey.

Already giving up this idea as a bad job, Ginny decided to close the door again. "Well, thanks anyway."

"Glad to be of service," said Humphrey.

Ginny, being inside the house, decided to keep the key and laid it on a small table in the sitting room. She assumed that the key magically went back into Humphrey's mouth once the house was empty again or if someone approached up the garden path. A small part of her had briefly wondered if whatever had happened to Hermione had led to someone finding the house. _Wonderful, I'm even more paranoid now!_

She knew she had to occupy herself with something or the afternoon and early evening would drag on and she would be an even worse nervous wreck by the time Dumbledore arrived. Trying to think rationally, she decided to go to the study and see if there were any books on mending broken bones or a simple potion she could make to sooth her hand. Books would be a little comfort and she could get lost in them, as she and Hermione had done the first day they had stayed at the house. _Hermione, wherever you are, please be all right_, Ginny thought.


	25. Gravely Courageous

**A/N: This chapter might make you desperately want to hug Ginny...or is it just me feeling that way? ;) :)**

25: Gravely Courageous

Ginny had looked at many books that afternoon, but none had any obvious or simple solution to a suspected broken bone, or even to lessen the pain. She picked up one book called "Culpeper's Complete Herbal", and on opening it she could see that it was a muggle book, but essentially a muggle potion book. There were coloured pictures of plants and entries for all kinds of ailments. It was obviously old and on looking at the printer's pages she saw it was a second edition from the original of 1653.

Wondering if there was a simple poultice she could make, Ginny read on and came to the conclusion that every single remedy seemed to 'Promoteth the urine', and she soon decided it wasn't the book for her upon reading remedies to help 'Turnings of the brain' and to 'Expelleth the dead child.' Ginny put the book back onto the shelf she had found it on.

"Find anything of interest?" asked a familiar, cheerful voice.

Ginny turned round from the shelf to find Dumbledore standing in the doorway to the study.

"Sorry Professor," she said. "I must have lost track of time."

"As it happens I was able to get away a little earlier than I thought," said Dumbledore. "Now, shall we sit in a comfortable chair, and you can tell me all your news?"

Ginny followed the professor into the sitting room. They sat in armchairs opposite each other, with the redhead sitting forward with her hands clasped nervously.

"What has happened?" asked Dumbledore. "I know, and can see for myself that Hermione isn't with you, but please tell me what has happened since you left here."

Taking a breath to sort out her thoughts, Ginny told Dumbledore about their journey to London, then Halifax and finally the morning at Little Hangleton.

"Did you manage to get the Ring?" he asked.

"Yes and no," said Ginny, dropping her head to stare at the carpet. "We swapped the Ring, but Hermione has it. She also has the Time-Turner."

"Can you think of anything odd about the morning? Seeing someone you didn't expect or someone saying something to you?"

"No, sir," said Ginny. "We were very careful to make sure no one saw us walk off on the track and enter the woods. If someone had been around, even innocently, we would have crossed the road and gone to the churchyard until everything was clear again."

"How did you swap the Ring? I mean to say, how did you manage to get Morfin into a position to swap it?" asked an intrigued Dumbledore.

Ginny told him about their simple plan. "Then I punched him from behind, but I had to do it twice. I know it sounds terrible, but we couldn't think of any other way to do it...not without magic, anyway," she said cradling her injured hand, subconsciously.

Dumbledore's eyes had seen the subtle movement. "Dear me, Ginny, you've hurt your hand."

"Yes," she said. "His head was a lot harder than I thought it would be."

Dumbledore gave a soft chuckle, got up from his chair and went over to Ginny; he gently lifted the injured hand into his, drew his wand and hovered it over the injured area. "Hmm," he said. "You've cracked a bone, I'm afraid. It's not displaced, so although it's painful and I don't have anything here for that right now, it will heal fine by itself. I'll try to remember to get the elves to bring a potion you can rub onto the area for the pain."

"Thank you, sir," said Ginny. "But, I'm not worried about me. It's Hermione I'm worried about. What can I do? I thought about going back, then wondered what I'd be going back into. I just don't know what to do, sir. I can't leave her, aside from the fact she has the Ring and Time-Turner, she would never leave _me_. I have to find out what's happened to her."

"I agree that it would have been unwise to have gone straight back there, I also agree that we have to find her, for many, many reasons, but most importantly because she is Hermione," Dumbledore, sat back down in his chair. "We've established that as far as you can tell, no one suspected you or watched you. You didn't feel anything strange as you Disapparated?"

"No," Ginny replied. "Hermione nodded to me to leave, and she was going to Disapparate a fraction after me. So whatever happened must have happened the second I'd left. If there had been trouble beforehand, Hermione had told me to take the Ring and her bag with the Time-Turner. As I didn't see any trouble she still had them both."

"What time would you say this was, when you Disapparated? I don't need exact minutes, but roughly?"

"We left The Hanged Man around 9.30am, but we didn't rush to walk to the shack. By the time we had done everything it might have been getting near 11am."

"That's very interesting," said Dumbledore, tapping a finger on the arm of his chair. "It explains something."

"It does?" Ginny asked, hoping he would divulge his thoughts.

"There is another reason I couldn't come here as soon as I would have liked. It wasn't just my taking classes, because there are always teachers to cover classes. I couldn't leave because I was being suspected."

"By other teachers?"

"No, by Tom Riddle," Dumbledore tapped his finger on the arm of his chair a couple more times. "I was told by one of my colleagues that halfway through his Potions lesson before lunch, his star pupil suddenly claimed to be feeling unwell and left the class for the bathroom. It's odd because, Tom Riddle would never leave a lesson taken by Professor Slughorn, he wouldn't ever want to risk his great friendship...or to put it more correctly, the way he has Horace around his little finger. Besides Tom has rarely ever been ill."

"Are you saying Riddle sensed something and he's got Hermione?" Ginny asked, the worry increasing.

"No, not exactly," said Dumbledore. "According to several people, Tom didn't leave the school and didn't go to the bathroom either. He went to the Slytherin Common Room and then stayed on his bed until lunch."

"So perhaps he _was_ feeling unwell?"

"I doubt it," said Dumbledore. "Otherwise he wouldn't have been spying on me for the rest of the day."

"He was watching you?"

"He's been suspicious about me for a long while. I think from the moment he started Hogwarts, he knew that I could see what he would be, or what I feared he would become, and that I'd always be watching him closely," said Dumbledore. "However, today was slightly different. Do you remember a warning I gave you about using magic anywhere near Little Hangleton?"

"Yes," said Ginny immediately. "Which is why I punched Gaunt with my fist and not something magical. We were only going to use magic to Disapparate once we'd got the Ring, as we would be long gone."

"From what you have told me, and from the information I have myself, I suspect something happened just after you Disapparated," Professor Dumbledore said. "Something was set off, like the possible warding we mentioned. It obviously became apparent to Tom Riddle, although he himself couldn't or wouldn't leave to find an answer for the alarm. That's why he was keeping an eye on me, thinking I was the one who had gone to Little Hangleton. I think he fears that I'll talk to Gaunt, move him or perhaps even kill him. Anyway I'm sure with the events of today I've confused and troubled him greatly."

"Then...then, I'm the one to blame for this?" Ginny said, feeling awful. "If I'd just let Hermione Side-Along Apparate me, none of this would have happened." She put her head in her hands.

"We don't know that for sure," said Dumbledore in a kind, soft voice. "You are not to blame for anything. It's possible something could have happened had you Side-Along Apparated and then there would be no one to know or help."

"So what do we do?" Ginny asked. "Where do we start?"

"For the moment you are to stay here," said Dumbledore and continued on when Ginny was about to protest. "I need to do a little bit of investigating, and see what I can discover first."

"I can't just sit here waiting?"

"You can, and you will," said Dumbledore sternly. "Do not think you are being left, or not being trusted; far from it. When and if I get the information I need, it will be you that will likely have to carry out any plan we can devise from it. I can not touch many elements of your being here, as I said when we first met; I can only really watch and advise. But first I must see what I can learn, and then we can work on what needs to be done and where."

Ginny inclined her head, but she hated not knowing and having to wait for Dumbledore to get back to her with details. Every fibre of her wanted to get out there herself and begin hunting for information. Every hour was an extra hour of Hermione maybe being hurt, or being taken further away or being closer to death.

"I know it's hard," said Dumbledore. "I understand how much you want to get Hermione back and the Time-Turner as well. But we have to be cautious and calm or we will gain nothing."

Despite the comfort of having Dumbledore to talk to and having him help, Ginny still felt despair, she nodded her agreement though.

"It may take me some time to gain any helpful information," said Dumbledore. "I think tonight is a good time for me to make a start. I hope I will be able to get back tomorrow to give you some news. I have to be careful again, however, so please try not to worry that I can not be here until tomorrow evening."

Ginny's heart was racing again. _Another whole day?_ she thought. _How am I going to cope with all that waiting?_

Dumbledore had seen the fleeting expression of fear and panic cross the red-haired girl's face. "You're a strong, courageous, resourceful and resilient young woman," he told her. "I don't just say that to make you feel better, although if it does, all well and good," he smiled. "You will be just fine here. I'm sure you will find something to occupy your mind with until we can talk again. For now, sit tight, try to be patient; more than just your hand could do with the rest, I don't doubt."

Professor Dumbledore stood up, and got ready to leave again. Ginny also stood up and followed him through to the kitchen. He turned and rested a hand on her shoulder, conveying an unspoken sentence of support and encouragement to her. "Until tomorrow," he said as he walked out of the kitchen to Disapparate back to Hogwarts.

As she heard the back door close, Ginny suddenly felt very lonely and panic once again came close to the surface, gripping her stomach, lungs and throat. She sat down on a chair in the kitchen, closed her eyes and took several deep calming breaths; resting her head on her arms, she almost felt close to dozing off, which was very odd.

After a while, not aware of the exact time she had sat there, gaining control of her nerves and fears once more, her stomach gave a slight growling noise. It was well into the early evening now, and thinking it would help to occupy some time, Ginny went to the pantry and thought about making a sandwich.

To Ginny's amazement the elves had already been and gone. _Just how long was I sitting there like a lump?_ she thought. Part of her was sad that she hadn't caught sight of the elves, but they were never ones to want to be very visible.

Along with some fresh bread, a lovely looking jam and cream sponge and some fresh sausage rolls, there was also a bottle of potion. Picking it up, Ginny could see the small Hogwarts crest on the label, and knew it must have come from the Hospital Wing. Dumbledore must have seen to it as soon as he got back. She had to smile, thinking on what Harry had told them about Dumbledore being able to Apparate and Disapparate at Hogwarts, when to everyone else's knowledge and ability it was impossible to do so.

Even though Ginny's stomach had signalled it was time to restock she didn't have a great appetite. She settled for a sausage roll, and a small slice of the sponge. To use up some more time she washed up the few items she had used the muggle way.

Ginny picked up the potion bottle again and thought it would probably be best if she used it before she went to bed.

It was not really late enough for bedtime yet, but Ginny went upstairs and to the bedroom Hermione and herself had used before. It made her feel very lonely and isolated again, and her worry for her friend increased briefly, until she shook her head and knew there was nothing she could do yet, and besides, who better to have on the case than Dumbledore.

After a few almost blank moments, Ginny decided to have a bath. It would use up some time and she felt grubby...she could almost still smell the stink of the old man Gaunt.

As she unbuttoned her shirt and undid the fly on her trousers it came to her again that she didn't have any other clothes. _Bugger!_ she thought, _Hermione had all the clothes! _She didn't like to look in the drawers or wardrobe in the room without having asked, but she wondered if she could find something suitable to sleep in. She could do a cleaning spell on it before she put the clothing back tomorrow.

Searching through the chest of drawers in the room, she found a long striped shirt, it was possibly an actual old sleeping shirt. It was fairly soft, so she decided to use it, and apologize to Dumbledore when she next saw him.

Lowering herself into the bath, being careful not to use too much pressure on her injured hand, she sighed as she settled into the water. Part of her felt guilty, to be enjoying this bath when her friend was missing, and going through who knew what. But she had to smile when she looked at the various coloured bubblebath bottles lined up and saw the red one missing. Her smile soon dropped again though. _I'm going to find you, Hermione_, she thought determined. _I promise_.

It was a relief to be able to use magic again, and Ginny did so to dry herself off. She put on the over-sized striped shirt, which smelled slightly of lavender and made her way back to the bedroom. Before folding her uniform clothes, she performed a quick cleaning spell on them and although they hadn't been filthy, it made them look fresher again.

Getting into the big fourposter bed, she picked up the potion bottle from where she had placed it on the small bedside cabinet. Ginny opened the bottle and took a sniff; it didn't smell too bad, so she tipped the bottle up and got some onto her index and middle finger of her left hand, then rubbed the potion onto the swollen and painful area on her right hand. It didn't sting as she expected, but tingled; it felt like lots of little butterflies were landing on her hand and fluttering their wings. In minutes the pain had lessened. She decided she would use the potion again in the morning.

Using her wand, Ginny dimmed the two lamps in the room, definitely not ready to sleep in the complete dark and certainly not while she was alone. Then, placing her wand under her pillow she resignedly laid down her tired, stressed and busy head. The feeling of being lonely had been present since the moment she had realized that Hermione wasn't going to arrive back at the house, and it felt so much worse knowing she wasn't next to her in the bed.

Ginny didn't care how pathetic or desperate it would sound or seem to others, but she sat back up and bunched up the free pillows next to her and wrapped them into the bedcovers, lying right up against them. It nearly felt like someone else was in the bed with her, and that would have to do. She curled up, almost hugging herself and as much as she thought her mind would probably not let her sleep, she soon drifted off.

Naturally, she would have hoped for a dreamless sleep, but somehow Ginny knew she wouldn't avoid having a dream. She became aware that she was entering a dream and could almost feel herself tense up and prepare for whatever was to come..._zzzzzzz_

It appeared that Ginny was sitting at the kitchen table at the Burrow. _Please, no weddings and no horny Harry this time,_ she thought. Her mother walked in from outside carrying some flowers she had cut from the garden, which she had arranged into a couple of bouquet-like bunches.

"Are you ready?" Mrs. Weasley asked her daughter.

"Ready?" Ginny asked. _Oh god, not another wedding, and a blasted bouquet_, she thought as she dreamed.

"We're supposed to be going to the church together, and you were going off to get ready?"

_Bollocks! It _is _another wedding!_ thought an annoyed Ginny. She looked down at her dream-self and saw she was wearing a long rust coloured skirt and a navy shirt. "I'm all right like this aren't I?" she asked her mother, hopefully, but waiting for the yelling response.

Mrs. Weasley looked over her daughter, then rolled her eyes. "Yes, yes, it's fine."

_Maybe I'm not the one getting married after all_, thought Ginny. "So who's getting married, Mum?"

"Married? When?"

"Today," Ginny said, noticing confusion on her mother's face.

"I don't know, is someone supposed to be getting married today?"

"I thought that's why we were going to the church?"

"Are you trying to be funny?" Mrs. Weasley asked, her eyes narrowing.

"I just don't know where we're going or why?" Ginny inquired.

Her mother gave her another stern look. "You know perfectly well where we're going. I know it's hard, dear. It's hard for all of us, but these little visits help us to accept things."

It dawned on Ginny where they were going then. "We're going to the _churchyard_?"

"Stop being silly, dear. You know that's where we're going, now come along."

Her mother walked outside through the door again and Ginny got up and followed her. Mrs. Weasley got hold of her hand and the scene blurred, so as she was dreaming it, Ginny assumed she had been Side-Along Apparated.

Looking around she saw that they were in a churchyard, although she didn't recognize it as being anywhere that familiar. Her mother had walked ahead of her and was several rows of gravestones away now. Ginny looked to where she was headed and saw her father, Percy, Charlie, George, Bill, Fleur, and Ron standing in the row her mother was walking to. George looked up, spotted Ginny and waved to her.

_Oh no,_ thought the dreaming Ginny, _it's Fred's grave...no not that, not now. _As she dreamed she tried hard to walk in the opposite direction or to get her dream to blur and become something else, but it didn't work and her dream-self walked towards her family. George hugged her, as did her other brothers, Fleur and her father. All of them, even her father, looked a little red around the eyes and upset.

Ginny watched numbly as her mother placed a bunch of flowers onto a grave, and patted the gravestone.

"There we are, Fred," Molly Weasley said, a tear rolling down her cheek. "We're all here to say hello. Wherever you are, you better be keeping out of trouble. We miss you as much today as we have every day...s...s...since you've been gone."

George gave a little sniff, and Fleur tried to be strong and smile, but held on tight to Bill as her own tears fell. Each of Ginny's brothers all said a few words to Fred. Ginny couldn't utter so much as a 'hello'.

After they had said their greetings, Mrs. Weasley gave Fred's gravestone another little pat and then crouched at the one next to it. "Hello," she said, "I never knew if you even liked flowers, or what colours, I hope you don't think it's too girlie. But we always bring you some, there's some Gryffindor red in there. We all still think of you as our family and always will. We miss you very, very much, Harry."

_Harry?_ thought Ginny as she dreamed, _No, not his grave, please not his grave. It's bad enough I have to go to Fred's, not his as well! _As her mother stood up again from the grave, Ginny could see past her to the gravestone's lettering. _'In loving memory of a courageous, magnificent young man. Harry James Potter...'_ Ginny willed her dream-self not to read anymore and to look away. She knew Harry was dead, but she didn't want to have it shoved in her face so blatantly; in some ways it was as bad as seeing him in his decomposed state in previous dreams. Fortunately her dream-self did look away and made to turn, tears burning unshed, in her eyes.

As others said a few words to Harry's grave, Bill held her arm. "It's hard isn't it, sis?"

"I just want to go," Ginny said, trying to walk further away.

"Be strong, Ginny," said Bill, holding her back. "She was, so be strong for her too now."

"You mean Mum?"

"No, you know who I mean," said Bill quietly. "I've said it before, but I still think you would feel better if you said something to her, find some peace for yourself. She would want you to."

"I don't understand," Ginny said bewildered. "Who are we talking about?"

Bill pointed to where their mother was now crouched, at a grave next to Harry's, patting the stone and talking to it. As her mother moved again, Ginny saw the lettering on the stone. _'In loving memory of a courageous and beautiful young woman. Hermione Jean...'_

"NO!" Ginny shouted. "NOOOOOOO! It's not true!"

"Ginny, don't," said Bill, hugging her. "I know it's hard, but she's gone. We all miss her and we have to accept it, but _you_ just don't seem to be able to. It's been a while now. Even Ron has moved to a point of acceptance," he pulled back and nodded to a solemn Ron, who was hugging his mother, red-eyed but with a lot of composure.

"Yes, but it wasn't his fault. She died because of me. ME!" she cried, hugging her brother back and sobbing into his shoulder.

Fleur placed a hand on her back. "Ginny, it wasn't your fault. We know that, and _she_ knows that. Stop blaming yourself," the Frenchwoman said softly. "It's not good for you to carry that blame around with you. You have to let yourself accept and begin to heal again."

Standing back from Bill, Ron came over and took Ginny's hand and walked with her away from the rest of the family.

"You have to let it go, Gin," said Ron sadly. "It will eat you up in the end."

"I don't care if it does," she said gloomily.

"None of us blames you, and Hermione certainly wouldn't, and me personally, well," Ron sighed, sadly. "I have to thank you."

"Thank me? What the hell for?"

"You did what I couldn't," Ron said evenly. "I could never keep her safe or do what needed to be done for the greater good, and in this new world she would have been hunted down and tortured. That's no kind of life. Letting her die, was the best thing you could have done."

"WHAT?" Ginny shouted. "I...I..._LET_ her die?"

As Ginny dreamed, and heard what Ron said, her chest constricted, both in the dream and in her sleep; in shock and distress.

"Let's not go over it again," Ron said. "We know what happened. None of us would be here if it wasn't for you and Hermione. The Dark Lord would have killed us all, but you made a difference, so at least some of us got to live."

"What the hell are you talking about?"

"Just try to forgive yourself, Ginny," Ron said, letting go of her hand and starting to walk away. "Forgive yourself and start to live again."

"No no NOOOOOO!" she shouted at her brother..._zzzzzzz_

Ginny woke up startled and with a sore, hoarse throat; she realized she had been shouting out in her sleep. Her chest ached and her heart was racing. She had been crying too and remembering the dream so vividly, seeing those three gravestones and the shock of seeing Hermione's stone made her sob uncontrollably now she was awake.

_Please say it isn't true...it can't be, no no no_, she thought. _I won't leave you, Hermione. I'll find you. Please don't be dead._

**A/N: "Culpeper's Complete Herbal" is a real book. I own a very old copy of it with handpainted colour pictures(plates), and it's extremely interesting and at times funny. It's scary to think people did actually try out its various rememdies for a wealth of illnesses in past centuries. Nearly every preparation has the side effect of "Promoteth the urine", mainly due to the fact nearly every remedy required lots of wine! Anyone with an interest in medicine or botany in history would find it interesting. I believe you can buy modern printed copies(still using the original old language) from places like Amazon.**


	26. Needed

**A/N: This chapter has a teeny-weeny bit of everything. ;)**

**This chapter also sees my first use in the story of a 'conscience' conversation. (You'll see which part it is.) I wasn't sure how to present it; whether to keep it in a big block or separate it out. In the end I decided to make use of bold type and separate it out. I hope it's easier to read like that.**

26: Needed

Ginny lay there in the four-poster bed for a while, utterly still except the rise and fall of her chest, her diaphragm moving heavily as she cried. What made things worse, other than facing what she had done in the dream, was the fact the last few bad dreams she had had, Hermione had been there for her when she awoke; to talk to, to have a hug from, to know that things were all right. At this moment in time, however, she was utterly alone and felt disconsolate beyond belief.

Several minutes passed and Ginny got out of bed and went to the bathroom to splash cold water onto her face. Looking at the small clock on the dressing table, she saw that it was only then approaching midnight. She was depressed by how many more hours there were until morning, followed by more hours until she would see Dumbledore again. Although, daylight hours were always less daunting.

Letting out a huge sigh, Ginny got back into bed and lay on her right side. She had her right arm out in front of her and with her left hand she felt along her wrist and found her pulse. Her heart was a lot slower than it had been when she woke up, beating steadily instead of racing. _How odd life is_, she reflected to herself, _one minute a beating heart and pulse and being very much alive, the next lifeless and still. Did Harry think about that when he was killed? Did he actually feel himself die? _Ginny soon tried to stop that particular line of thought. _It won't do you any good to think about that._

Considering the circumstances Ginny was amazed that she had drifted off to sleep again, and was hugely disappointed and apprehensive to find she was dreaming once more. _Please, no bad or confusing dreams, I can't take much more,_ she thought..._zzzzzzz_

She appeared to be at Hogwarts in the Gryffindor Common Room, but there was no sign of destruction or anyone looking distressed; everything looked normal. _All right_, Ginny thought as she dreamed, _I'll take bad marks in potions or a detention for a little bit of calm for once._

Ginny was sitting at a table doodling some strange patterns onto a piece of parchment, when Parvati Patil walked into the Common Room and came straight over to her.

"Hermione wants to see you," Parvati said. "She's in the library."

"Did she say what about?" asked Ginny, wondering.

"No, she just said she wanted to talk to you."

"Thanks," Ginny said, as she got up and made her way out of the Common Room.

The dream blurred a little, with a few random walks down corridors that never ever existed in the places that her dream had positioned them, but eventually she walked into the library. There didn't seem to be anyone in there except for Luna who looked up and waved a 'hello' to her.

"Have you seen Hermione?" she asked Luna, in a whisper.

"I think she's in the Restricted Section," answered the blonde Ravenclaw.

"Thanks Luna."

The walk from the ordinary part of the library to the Restricted Section seemed abnormally long and Ginny began to wonder if it was one of those dreams where you never got to where you needed to go. However, she eventually reached the end of the Restricted Section and as she turned to look at some desks at the back, she saw Hermione seated at one.

"There you are," Ginny said in a quiet voice, going over to her.

Hermione looked up from two books she seemed to be reading at the same time. _I wouldn't put it past her to be able to read two books at the same time in real life, _Ginny thought as she viewed the dream.

"Finally!" said Hermione, in a quiet voice. Ginny pulled out a chair, turned it and sat next to her friend. "Just what did you think you were doing?" Hermione asked Ginny, before the redhead had hardly sat down.

"Huh?" was all Ginny could reply with initially. "What have I done?"

"What have you done? _What have you done?_" said Hermione, almost squeaking to try and keep her voice down, even though she was obviously bothered by something.

"Yes, that's what I asked. I've obviously done something to piss you off, but you're going to have to tell me what it is?"

"I thought you and Harry had finished, I thought it was over between you two?"

"Yes, he's not around anymore," answered a confused Ginny. _Maybe because he's dead_, the dreaming Ginny thought.

"So why were you two all over each other down by the lake this morning?"

"We _were_?" asked an astonished Ginny. "I didn't know he was still alive?" she blurted out before thinking; although Hermione didn't appear to have heard her answer.

"It's not right, it's not...not decent!" Hermione spluttered out.

"It's nothing you and Ron haven't done, what's the problem?" Ginny said, imagining that she and Harry had been caught snogging. She still had this overwhelming feeling that Harry was dead in this dream, so if she had been caught snogging a corpse, maybe Hermione had a point about it not being decent.

"I haven't done anything like that with Ron," said Hermione.

_Wait a moment,_ thought Ginny, _is this some kind of wacky role reversal from that other dream I had about taking baths?_

"Well, maybe if you _did_ do something with Ron, you wouldn't be so obsessed with what I do with Harry!" said Ginny. She regretted her tone straight away, when she saw anger and hurt flash across Hermione's facial expressions.

"You don't have any idea, do you? I thought you knew, I thought you saw. I thought it was why you weren't going to see Harry anymore?"

"Knew what? What am I supposed to have seen?" Ginny asked, flummoxed. _Is she talking about the fact he's dead and she thinks I haven't noticed?_

"There's a war coming, several of us are going to die," Hermione said in a low voice.

"Yes, I know that," said Ginny. "So, your point is?"

"There's no time," Hermione said. "No time to set out any plans, to follow dreams to see how things work out. I thought you knew, but you obviously don't or you wouldn't be acting like a slut with Harry."

"Slut?" Ginny questioned, perplexed and making to stand up. "I kiss my boyfriend and I'm a slut? I don't have to sit here and be insulted. I think maybe it was a bad idea my coming to see you at all." She turned to leave.

"Don't you _dare_ leave me Ginny Weasley!"

The words cut through to the dream-Ginny and the real one dreaming it, even though she thought it was an odd turn of phrase. She turned around to be faced with Hermione close to tears and angry as hell too.

"Tell me a good reason why I shouldn't leave? Why I should endure another minute of you attacking me?" said Ginny, making to walk away again.

Hermione walked forward, and got hold of Ginny's arm, turning her to face her. "Because we might die and you don't seem to have a clue. We might die and you'll never know how...I...feel about you." With that Hermione leaned in and pressed her lips to Ginny's, completely stunning the redhead.

It was a warm, slightly chaste, soft kiss, not demanding, not seeking to intrude, just planting the impact of the action onto Ginny's lips and into her mind. Then Hermione pulled away, and Ginny jerked back.

"What the...?" Ginny said, completely dumbfounded.

"I've ruined it now," said Hermione, getting upset and packing her books into a bag hurriedly. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have done that. You won't have to see me again. I'm going, I won't bother you anymore. I'm sorry."

Ginny watched, still in a kind of stupor. "Hermione...?" But she couldn't think of any coherent speech. "I..."

"Bye Ginny," said Hermione, as she made to walk past her. Ginny tried to grasp her arm to stop her from leaving. "I have to go," said Hermione. "You know how things are now, but I won't be coming back. It was...you're a...wonderful woman, and I hope whomsoever you end up with appreciates that."

"But what about the war?" Ginny asked, flustered. "Aren't you going to be here for that? You'll be needed more than ever."

"Sometimes we don't have a choice," Hermione said sadly, as she somehow slipped out of Ginny's grasp and ran from the library.

"Hermione?" Ginny called. "Come back! Don't leave! We need you! _I_ need you!"..._zzzzzzz_

Ginny awoke almost choking, her throat sore, most likely from shouting out in her sleep again. _What in the name of Merlin's balls is going on? _she thought. _Hermione kissed me, and suggested she liked me? Okay, dreams can twist things, and I've always thought she's very attractive. _She paused in her thoughts. _I said that I 'need' her! Whew, that's a bit strange, although at the moment I'm desperate to find her again. Hang on...'I've always thought she's very attractive'? Bloody hell! This is _not _the time to be sexually curious! I didn't exactly feel repulsed by the kiss did I? Er...I think I really liked it. Shit!_

After a few more moments of thinking of nothing and finding herself touching her lips with her fingertips, remembering how the kiss felt in the dream, another thought hit her. _It's Hermione's fault...it was that blasted foot massage she gave me. It must have triggered off something more and it's got all mixed up._

Getting out of bed again, Ginny went to the loo, and as she sat there she had other unbidden thoughts come to her mind, as if she were having a conversation with another person. It was her conscience talking to her:

_**You wouldn't say no if she kissed you in real life, would you? **__I don't bloody know, do I? It's highly unlikely to happen so I'll never know. _

_**Well, you certainly liked snuggling up to her in bed, didn't you? **__All right, yes, but that was to help me with my bad dreams. _

_**Riiight! **__Oh shut up! It's probably just a silly crush thing. _

_**Hmm-mm? **__Look, this is neither the time nor the place to be thinking about such things. I just want to get her back safely. _

_**Why not the time and place? Wars make life so fragile, you have to take life with both hands and wrestle all you want from it. **__Yes, but, even if I did want to experiment, she's not here, is she? Besides, she's with Ron. _

_**Hardly, she's already swayed into uncertainty from her dreams of arguing with him, she's always had doubts about him and their compatability. **__Yeah but why would she opt for a girl, she's into boys? _

_**Ah but isn't everyone at least a little bi-sexual? **__How the hell do I know about that? I'm just confused, I've had a lot of stress and after losing Fred and Harry, it's a bit of nonsense. _

_**Is it? Aren't dreams a little bit of truth allowed to come to the surface? Especially the kind of dreams you and Hermione have, which are so strong and you have power over certain parts of them. **__Like I had a choice over Hermione kissing me in the damn library? My dream dragged me there. _

_**Did it?**_

As Ginny got back to bed, she glanced at the clock again and saw that it was five o'clock in the morning. She decided to try another couple of hours of dozing, even if that risked more dreams. _Now I don't know which dreams are worse; the gory heart-wrenching kind or bloody confusing ones like this last one? Just go to sleep Ginny._

The redhead drifted off to sleep again for a couple of hours and thankfully didn't have anymore disturbing dreams of any kind. She thought she glimpsed a flash of a cat sitting in a chair knitting, which made her laugh, but other than that it was a calm sleep until 7.30am.

When she woke up, for a brief instant she thought Hermione was in the bed next to her, and she felt elated that her first dream was just a bad dream, but when she turned her head to look over her shoulder and saw the bunched up lump she had created from the pillows and covers, her heart sank like a stone. Then she remembered not only the first dream but the second one again. _Despair, sweetness and despair,_ she thought. _What am I to make of any of it?_

Feeling as though her legs were made of lead, she groaned a little as she got out of bed. Her hand was feeling much better, but she still used a little potion on it. She tried to take as long as possible washing and dressing; looking over her serge blue WAAF trousers and picking off bits of lint, real or imagined.

Ginny took extra time over breakfast, doing everything the slow muggle way, almost feeling like her whole being was in slow motion. She knew her parents and brothers would laugh if they saw her, but she decided to clean the study, dust all the books and arrange them in alphabetical order, when that seemed a little less straight forward she looked into subject matter instead.

At some point the Hogwarts' house-elves had visited again, leaving some more food. Stopping only for a quick lunch, which included a slice of a gorgeous lemon meringue pie, she carried on with her book sorting. Once or twice she stopped to read a little of a book that caught her interest. One was a book on Puddlemere United, a review of their results from 1870-1895, including reports on their more lively matches.

With only a few books left to sort, having sensibly put the saucy book she had found with Hermione to the back of a shelf again, she made herself a pot of tea and carried on working, until she found a book that caught her eye called 'Muggle Seaside Towns Every Witch and Wizard Should Visit Before They Turn 50'.

Ginny was then turning over a page to read about Cromer on the north Norfolk coast and their apparently world renown crabs, when a voice disturbed her from her reading.

"My goodness!" said Dumbledore, in the study doorway. "This room has never looked so tidy."

"I hope you don't mind?" Ginny said. "I had to find something to do with my time, plus the books were interesting."

"Mind? Not at all," he smiled. "I might be able to actually find things in here now."

"Sir, have you...have you got any news?" Ginny asked, feeling a little bad for hardly letting the man walk into his own house.

"All in good time," he said. "Shall we go to the sitting room as before?"

Ginny nodded. "Would you like a cup of tea, sir?"

"That would be most welcome," he said.

"Milk, one sugar?" asked Ginny.

"A very good memory. Thank you."

With a quick trip to the kitchen and using magic to speed up the process, Ginny was soon wandering through to the sitting room with two cups of tea, and setting one onto the small table next to Dumbledore.

"How have you been, Ginny?" he asked kindly.

"Okay," she answered.

"Did you manage to get any sleep?"

"Yes. But since the first night we arrived here I've been having horrible dreams. I suppose I should just get used to them. Hermione was getting them too."

"I would think there are many reasons for that, including the stress of what you left, the stress of what you have here and the travel over time," Dumbledore said, before taking a sip of his tea.

"That's similar to what we thought," said Ginny, sitting forward, almost willing Dumbledore to start talking and tell her where Hermione was so she could go and get her.

"How is your hand?"

"It's feeling better than it was. Thank you for the potion," said Ginny.

"No problem, I'm glad it's helped. Now, my news," he said. "You understand that I have not been able to go to the places you have been. Although it would seem you might have set off any warding there, I still can not risk to step a foot near to the area in case it's still active, or directed for me personally, which is a possibility."

Ginny couldn't stop herself from butting in. "I'm sorry sir, but how can you gather information if you can't go to where we were last? To where Hermione was last?"

Dumbledore held up his hand. "Patience. I can only imagine what you are going through, but please try to stay calm," he smiled. "So, not being able to go myself I sent a couple of my little friends, the most trusted of course. And they were able to investigate for me."

"Do you mean house-elves?" asked Ginny, and when Dumbledore nodded, she added, "But won't they set off the magical warding by Apparating there too?"

"House-elves have very similar magic to wizards, but it is essentially of their very own variety. I am told, by my older self, that Riddle particularly undervalues and ignores their talents, having no desire or interest in what, essentially, he considers to be a lower being than himself," he took another sip of tea. "Sending two of my trusted little friends, they were able to get to Gaunt's shack unseen and undetected for a short amount of time."

At the mention of the shack Ginny had clasped her hands together, waiting to hear...what? Hope or the worst? She didn't know, but it made her nervous.

"I'm sorry to say that there was no trace of Hermione there. They did see several small patches of burning; magical burning. Did you cast any _incendio_ spells?"

"No," Ginny answered, feeling the tension build. "As I mentioned yesterday, we didn't do any magic until we...well, until _I, _Disapparated."

"Hmm, interesting," said Dumbledore. "It appears that Hermione was perhaps confronted at the shack by either Gaunt himself or someone else, because I can't see why she would cast _incendio_ spells at random places on the ground otherwise, or why anyone else would do so."

"But the elves didn't find her?" Ginny asked.

"Not at the shack, no," answered her Professsor.

"Then where did she go?"

"I was intrigued by all that you told me about the area, so I sent my friends to look at the tracks away from the woods and the village too."

"And they found her?" Ginny inquired hopefully.

"I'm afraid not," Dumbledore said softly. "But what the elves _could_ determine was that magic hadn't been used outside of the woods or in the village."

"Then...then Hermione...,"

"Hermione isn't in Little Hangleton."

"Then, where? If she Disapparated why didn't she come here?" Ginny said, feeling exhausted by the whole meeting so far.

"I got my friends to track the path you took from Great Hangleton and it was there in that village they discovered a magical signature," he said.

"We didn't do any magic there either, nor along the road," said Ginny.

"I didn't think that you had," Dumbledore said mysteriously. "The elves ended up in the churchyard at Great Hangleton and found the source."

"Oh god, she's dead isn't she?" Ginny could feel the tears welling in her eyes.

"We don't know," said Dumbledore.

"You _haven't_ found her?"

"No, and I won't lie to you either," he said softly. "The elves found a lot of blood around and under some shrubs in the corner of the churchyard."

"It doesn't mean it's Hermione's...or can you test it?"

"We don't need to, because they found this," he said, as he pulled out a crumpled WAAF hat, from somewhere in his robes.

"So where is she?" Ginny asked, her voice close to breaking. "If there was lots of blood she must have gone somewhere?"

"We don't know," Dumbledore said for what felt like the hundredth time that evening. "There are no more magical signatures so she didn't Disapparate anywhere else."

"What about the pub? The White Hart? They were kind people, maybe they found her?"

"Alas, I also wondered about somewhere like that, but the elves said the pub was empty; except for the landlord and landlady, their rooms were empty. The other thing, is that there was no other blood other than the patches under and around the shrubs. If she walked away, we'd expect to see evidence of more blood maybe, or of dragging heavy footfalls."

"She can't just have vanished, can she?" Then Ginny had a horrible thought. "Oh no! No..."

"What is it?"

"You don't think she used the Time-Turner and went back to, you know, our proper time?"

"I don't think so," said Dumbledore. "Firstly it requires a small amount of magic, and the elves found none other than where she Apparated to in the churchyard and secondly she would never leave you here. I have hardly had time to know you both in this time period, but I _do_ know she wouldn't leave you, Ginny."

"Then what do I do? I'm lost, literally," said a forlorn sounding Ginny.

"Here is my suggestion, my advice," he said. "Go back to Great Hangleton, and see if you can find something out. It's likely you'll need a muggle sense of doing things. Subtly ask around to see if anyone else noticed the blood, things like that, yes? Keep your identity as a WAAF, because you can ask questions easier with that persona."

"I don't have any other clothes, so I'll _have_ stay in this uniform," said Ginny with a nervous laugh. "Do I have to take the train from King's Cross to Halifax again?"

"No, I think you can Apparate to Halifax station, safely. I now believe the warding to be localised to Little Hangleton. But it's still wise not to directly Apparate any closer than Halifax."

"I have a question, sir," Ginny began and when the Professor nodded, she continued. "Why couldn't the elves do the whole switching-ring job if they wouldn't set off any warding?"

"The elves in my service can not essentially steal from a wizard," Dumbledore said. "And although you swapped the Ring, it was still stealing. I'm sure the elves of Death Eaters would find no problem, but mine are different and I would never bully them to do a task which went against their very nature. It had to be done by witches or wizards, and to make sure such a complicated plan had more chance of working. House-elves are wonderful beings, they are, but they do not always have cunning or quick thinking if a plan needs to be changed at the last minute."

"So, do I go tonight?"

"No, tomorrow morning would be fine, and less suspicious," Dumbledore smiled. "I'll get the elves to leave you some food in the morning to take with you."

"I don't have Hermione's beaded bag; the one she enchanted to fit anything into," answered Ginny.

"It's just as well I brought this, isn't it?" Dumbledore said with a grin, as he produced from one of his long drooping sleeves a small handbag and gave it to Ginny. "It has the same kind of charm on it. I thought it might be useful. I also took the liberty to pack you a few toiletries including a toothbrush."

"Thanks, sir," she said, genuinely grateful. "That bag might well be useful."

"I must go again now," he said, rising from the chair.

They walked through to the kitchen. "Try to be patient," he said to Ginny again. "Patience and calm thinking. You've managed it so far, I have the utmost faith in you to carry on."

Ginny nodded, feeling embarrassed and not at all as confident about herself as Dumbledore seemed to be.

"I hope you're able to find some answers sooner rather than later, but if it takes a little longer, so be it," he said. "You know how to contact me. I may not be able to come and see you straight away, as I've said before, but your messages _will_ get to me. However, if you find Hermione, or can get to her, do so, do not waste time in coming back here to contact me first. I trust you to know what to do and when."

The red-haired witch was again unsure of his confidence in her. He was about to leave when Ginny remembered the night shirt. "Oh sir, I must apologize. I didn't have any other clothes, and nothing to sleep in. I looked in one of the chest of drawers and found a long striped shirt. I'll make sure to spell it clean before I go."

"No need to apologize," he gave a warm smile. "I told you that my home is your home and that means the things inside it too. Help yourself to anything you feel you might need."

Dumbledore turned to leave, but looked over his shoulder as he left. "The best of luck."

_Boy do I need it,_ thought Ginny, as she waved a farewell. _Hermione, where are you?_


	27. With A Little Difference

**A/N: I tried to post this chapter yesterday, but this website was having log-in issues, anyway I'm here now. :)**

**I had quite a bit of fun with parts of this chapter. :)**

27: With A Little Difference

Ginny was alone again, standing in the kitchen staring at the place where Dumbledore had been standing moments earlier.

Not feeling particularly hungry, she knew she would have to eat something if she was going to do what she must tomorrow; going back to Great Hangleton. Perusing the pantry, she opted for a rather nice looking spaghetti bolognese that only required her to heat it up, which she did with her wand. When she had been in Dumbledore's house with Hermione, it had felt quaint and immense fun to prepare things the muggle way, but now she was alone and had no company to share a meal with, it made it easier to resort to magic.

It was hard not to feel a pull of nostalgic sentiment and longing for Hogwarts as she ate her dinner; tasting the familiar flavours and in turn being taken back to happier times in her mind.

After dinner and washing up the few items she had used, she decided to empty all the pockets of her WAAF uniform. She had her papers and identity cards, safely in a top pocket of her jacket, and the purse with the original coinage in a lower jacket pocket. _Thank goodness I kept my own papers and money,_ she thought. _Hermione was right to make sure we each did that._

Ginny saw that she had quite a bit of coinage still, and now she had got used to the rough amounts things cost, she was satisfied she had enough. She decided to put back the items into the pockets she had them in before. The small handbag Dumbledore had given her would just about fit, squashed into her trousers' pocket or into her gas mask bag. Either way, she would be reasonably self-sufficient.

With everything packed, she had a vivid memory of herself and Hermione preparing things for their trip a few days ago. It made her think of the times she had read a book, while waiting for time to pass. Now she had her own enchanted bag, she could take a book. She went to the study and decided to pick up the book on Muggle Seaside Towns. It would take her mind away to somewhere else if she had to wait for any length of time.

All packed and with everything checked and refreshed to memory, Ginny made her way upstairs. She had decided to take a bath again, hoping it would relax her before she tried to sleep.

Soaking in the bath, having used a green bubblebath that night, which smelled of fresh pine trees after rain, she tried to start forming a plan in her mind for the next day.

She would Disapparate to Halifax train station, and thought she would pick a place just off a platform, which she remembered seeing when she was there before, and thought it would be a good place to aim for, not in the middle of the station; then she would walk to the ticket office and see if they would call a taxi for her again. Hopefully a taxi could take her to Great Hangleton as before. _I'll go to The White Hart,_ she thought. _Alf and Lottie were nice and the food was too. They also might be good for gossip about anything odd that has happened in the last couple of days._

Ginny nodded to herself. _That will have to do to start with,_ she thought, _although I suppose my next move will be to look at the area where the blood was in the churchyard. First things first, get to Great Hangleton._

The redhead had enjoyed her bath, and didn't feel too guilty about staying there longer than she might normally have done, even at home. She thought back to Hermione and how her friend had made the most of it when they were last in Godric's Hollow, not knowing when the next opportunity for a bath would present itself.

Feeling tired, and relaxed enough to actually yawn, Ginny got out of the bath, dried herself off, using a combination of towel and wand, then went to the bedroom. She applied a little potion to her hand; it wasn't really bothering her much now. It was quite bruised still, but the pain had nearly gone, or she had had so much to think about she had subconsciously ignored it. She would take the potion with her tomorrow anyway.

It was nearing nine o'clock now and she was feeling tired and weary. The tiredness was from a combination of reasons; the whole situation she was in, the conversation with Dumbledore, the tidying up in the study and the apprehension of beginning her search for Hermione tomorrow.

Sighing loudly, which then turned into another yawn, Ginny got into bed. She dimmed the lamps, and put her wand under her pillow. Once again, she bunched up the spare pillows in the covers, so as she laid on her side she could feel something next to her. It felt even more pathetic to her a second time, but if it helped her sleep even a little, there was no harm in it.

For a long while Ginny lay there awake, even though she closed her eyes. There weren't a lot of thoughts in her mind, and she was aware of nothing much more than the lump in the bed behind her and the thumping of her heart. She knew if she dreamed again, that she could expect anything. The worst and strangest of scenes had visited her since stepping foot in 1943.

After having lain there a while she moved her head to look at the clock in the room, it was eleven o'clock. It wasn't long after she noted the time that she drifted off to sleep and another dream..._zzzzzzz_

Ginny wondered for a moment if she was actually awake, because she appeared to be in the second bedroom in Dumbledore's house. Then, as she looked around she saw Hermione sitting on the bed, packing all manner of shaped boxes and books into her beaded bag.

"You're here?" Ginny said, a little confused, her actual self making her dream-self surprised. _At least she isn't dead in this one, or jumping me,_ she thought as she dreamed.

The Hermione in the dream looked up. "Did you drop off, or something?"

"Might have," answered Ginny, as she watched Hermione continue packing. "Do we need all of that?"

"This?" Hermione gestured to another stack of four books she was about to put into her beaded bag. "We might need it. Best to be safe and take it."

"Er, where are we going?"

"You did drop off, didn't you?" Hermione smiled at her. "Nevermind. We're going to Halifax, remember?"

"Oh yes," Ginny replied. _Is this just a repeat of something because I've got to go there again?_ she thought.

Hermione packed another twenty books and two large boxes of something before finally closing the bag. "Right," she said. "We'd better try on our uniforms now."

"I can't wait!" said Ginny, her dream-self feeling just as sarcastic and underwhelmed as her real self. Hermione turned and fixed her with a serious stare, similar to the kind she pinned Ron with.

"Hmm," uttered Hermione as she looked in the wardrobe. "It seems we have to wear military issue lisle stockings."

"We can wear the trousers," Ginny quickly told her friend, desperate not to wear those manky old stockings even if it _was_ just in a dream. "We don't have to wear the skirts and stockings."

"What trousers?" Hermione said, looking at her questioningly. "There are no trousers here, and it says nothing about it on the pages of information we were given."

"Turn the papers over."

Hermione turned over the information sheets, but they were blank and devoid of any instructions regarding a work uniform with trousers. Ginny got up and stalked over to the wardrobe, opening the doors wide, and to her bewilderment, there were no trousers, and there were only two female uniforms, no male ones needing to be transfigured.

"Why did you think we could wear trousers?" asked Hermione.

"I just...thought," Ginny said. "Perhaps I dreamed it? I don't know," she hurriedly added, "I suppose we need to try the things on?"

"Yes," Hermione said, as she began to lay out the uniforms on the bed.

Ginny looked at the jackets and the rather austere and boring cut skirts, the shirts, the awful thick stockings and underwear with suspender attachments.

Grimacing as she changed into the uniform, suspecting that she was grimacing in her sleep, she and Hermione put on the uniform. They looked at each other when they were done.

"Well, they fit, we can take them off again now," said Hermione.

"Merlin's pants, I've hardly got the damn clothes on!" Ginny exclaimed.

"I didn't think you liked the uniform?"

Ginny just muttered her response which amounted to 'what was the point of that?' Taking off the jackets and skirts, and placing them back on the bed, she was about to unbutton her shirt.

"Blast!" said Hermione.

"What?"

"I've got one of my hooks caught and can't get it undone," Hermione said. "Can you get it for me?"

Ginny looked up to see Hermione, also in her shirt, with one stocking gone but the other hanging by one hook at the back. _Why doesn't she use magic?_ she thought, but she still went over to her friend, and stood behind her, moving the overhang of her shirt to one side to see the caught-up hook. _Come to think of it, why aren't _I _using magic?_ In a simple move she freed the hook. "There you go," she said, and tapped Hermione's backside with the back of her hand.

"You Weasleys are all the same," said Hermione.

"We _are_ all ginger!" said Ginny, with a giggle.

"No, I mean you all have to have a touch of my backside!" Hermione said, with a laugh. "Except your parents, I hasten to add."

"Oh, well I apologize for my lecherous brothers," said Ginny. _This is just a repeat dream_, she thought as she dreamed it. _We've had this conversation before._

As Hermione rolled off her stocking, Ginny got rid of hers too, sitting on the bed, leaning over to retrieve a stocking from the floor.

"I'm not too keen on your brothers copping a feel, but you're all right," said Hermione.

Ginny looked up at her friend. "I should hope so, I don't have sex on my mind all the time and I'm not thinking of how to get you behind the broomstick sheds!"

"You're not?" asked Hermione.

"Um, no."

"Don't you find me attractive?" asked Hermione, smirking.

"W...well, I've not really thought about it," replied Ginny, knowing she was blushing. _Okay, we never had _that _conversation before,_ thought Ginny wearily as she dreamed it. _Not another wonky dream!_

"So look," said Hermione, trying to get Ginny to look at her. "What's your opinion?"

"What's brought this on?" asked Ginny, trying not to look up again. "Is Ron ignoring you again?"

"Ron? I think I've wasted enough time on him.," Hermione said seriously, without a sign that she was playing around. "Now, what do you think?"

Reluctantly Ginny looked up and saw Hermione leaning against one of the open wardrobe doors, wearing just the shirt and underwear, her long smooth legs still bare.

"Um...er...you look fine," Ginny said, suddenly becoming interested in a bit of fluff on the stocking in her hand. _Please change the dream,_ Ginny thought, _this isn't what I want to be seeing now. This is entering the weird zone._

"You're not even looking properly," said Hermione, who had somehow walked across the room unheard and was standing in front of Ginny. When Ginny was forced to look up she saw that Hermione had unbuttoned her shirt, which left a long suggestive gap of bare flesh and a small bit of exposed bra. _Noooo, don't look,_ Ginny pleaded with her dream-self. She looked down again as she exaggerated the time needed to carefully roll up her stocking.

"Oh Ginny, don't be embarrassed, it's just me," Hermione said.

When Ginny still didn't respond, not knowing how, Hermione uttered a little annoyance under her breath before stunning the redhead by taking the stocking out of her hand, flinging it down, then taking Ginny's hands and placing them inside her open shirt, over her bra-covered breasts. "If you won't look and tell me what you think, then you'll have to feel and tell me," laughed Hermione.

"Hermione? I...I..," Ginny said, pulling back her hands, the palms almost tingling where they had so recently covered her friend's chest.

"You like me, don't you?"

"You're my friend," Ginny said. _I sound so thick!_ she thought as she dreamed it.

"Yes, but I could be a special friend, if you want me to be?" said Hermione. "I'd like you to be."

"You...you w...w...would?" asked a very spluttery, stuttering Ginny.

Both the dream-Ginny and the real one dreaming it, were stunned again when Hermione moved forward placing a leg either side of Ginny's, as she sat on the edge of the bed, and proceeded to sit on her lap, straddling her.

"Uhhh...," was all Ginny could utter. _Wake up, wake up now!_

Hermione placed her hands against Ginny's cheeks, getting her to look up into her face. "You can tell me to stop, at any time," said Hermione with a smile as she closed the gap between them and kissed Ginny.

_Bloody Hell!_ Ginny thought, _get up, wake up, run, you can't be doing this!_

The kiss in this dream was more passionate than the one the previous night, and Hermione pushed her tongue into her mouth. It seemed the more the real Ginny tried to pull her dream-self out of the dream, the deeper the contact became.

Ginny gave a little moan, she couldn't help it because the kiss was wonderful. She could feel Hermione smile into the kiss when she heard Ginny moan, and she reached for one of Ginny's hands, which had gone kind of limp from shock, and brought it up between them to rest on her breast again, squeezing Ginny's hand with her own to in turn knead her breast.

The red-haired young woman felt breathless, shocked and...turned on. She was aware of a little fluttering feeling low down. Just as she thought about it, Hermione pushed her back, so she was lying on the bed with Hermione on top of her, kissing her just as deeply and just as passionately. _This is wrong,_ Ginny thought as she dreamed, _wake up you idiot...WAKE UP!_

Hermione kissed her way down her neck, and Ginny couldn't help a sigh of "Hermione"..._zzzzzzz_

Ginny woke up with a huge jump, and then struggled like an animal caught in a trap. She had rolled onto her back at some point and the lump of covers and pillows were all over her, and it took a moment or two to check she didn't have an actual person on top of her.

Once she moved the covers away and got herself free, she lay back panting, a light sheen of sweat over her face. She put a hand to her mouth, remembering as if it were real, the feel of Hermione's lips on her own, her tongue.

_Stop thinking about it!_ she thought angrily to herself. It was difficult to ignore so quickly however, due to the fact she had a real ache of desire between her legs. _Oh for Merlin's sake!_ she thought. _How wrong is that dream? And on so many levels! Why dream that? Hermione might be dead for all I know, or hiding somewhere in agony, or being held captive, I have no right to dream of her like that. _Her conscience decided to come out and play though:

_**She might not be here now, but if you find her, aren't you curious to see if she might be interested in that way? **__How can I even think that? I have to find her, that's all that matters. I wouldn't care if she had to marry Draco Malfoy if that was the key to getting her back. _

_**Oh, I think you **_**would **_**care about that. **__Whatever! It's just not right to be thinking like that, it's the stress and confusion of everything else. _

_**Your body would say otherwise, you rather enjoyed it, didn't you? **__Is that why I was trying to wake up several times before anything silly could happen? _

_**I don't think your heart was in it. **__Hello, that's why I was trying to wake up! _

_**No, your heart wasn't in to waking up, you wanted to stay there and see what would happen. **__Just stop it! I have to find Hermione, whether I like her as more than a friend or not, or whether I'm having some bizarre reaction to Harry's death isn't important. I need to find her and soon. _

_**Then you can kiss her. **__Noooo. _

_**Would you run away if she tried to kiss you though? **__...no. _

_**Ah-ha!**_

Shaking her head and punching her pillows back into place, angry, frustrated and confused with herself, she settled back down. It was around three o'clock and she wanted to get as much sleep as possible, and desperately hoped she could get some sleep without anymore dreams. She doubted she would get her wish, but on this occasion she seemed to have a very deep, almost dreamless sleep. The only dreams she remembered were flashes of ordinary things and that made them easily forgetable.

So deeply did Ginny sleep, that she didn't wake up until nearly eight o'clock in the morning. Unfortunately her first thought when she woke up was the dream she had had of Hermione, and then she became angry with herself again, because she should have been thinking of the challenges of the day ahead, not some odd dream, which in her opinion this morning, was a little far-fetched.

As she sat on the edge of the bed it occurred to her to think of the day and the date. Using her fingers to count, she realized that she had been in 1943 a week now. It was Friday 19th March. _A week? Was that all?_ she thought. _It feels like I've been here months._

Having washed and dressed and descended the stairs, she went to the pantry and saw that the elves had already been and gone. They had left a picnic box again with a few little pies and some apples and a couple of the enchanted flasks too. She packed them into her handbag straight away along with the pain relieving potion too.

Ginny had a quick breakfast of toast and jam, and after making some tea, made sure she packed some extra tea in her bag in case she wanted to top up the flasks.

A final check of her pockets for all her important papers and muggle money, she slung her gas mask bag on and her hat and walked out through the scullery to the back garden. It wasn't 9.30am yet but she had her wand ready and would slide it up her sleeve as soon as she arrived at her destination. Taking a last look at the back of the house in Godric's Hollow, she closed her eyes and thought hard about Halifax railway station and the exact place she wanted to Disapparate to. Her heart was racing again.

Although she knew the place she was going to, better than the day she and Hermione had first travelled there, she felt nervous. A deep breath and a turn, and she was gone.

It wasn't busy when she Apparated at Halifax station. There was only one train at a platform, and maybe twenty people waiting at an empty platform. Ginny realized that the place she was standing, was in fact a small alcove, which was even better for concealing her arrival.

Ginny looked out at the rest of the station, checked that she looked all correct and everything was as it should be with her uniform, then took those first nervous steps across the station, hoping she looked as normal as possible.

The ticket office wasn't hard to find and she had remembered where it was anyway. She approached the counter and was about to ring a bell for attention, when she saw the same man who had served them earlier in the week, walk up to the counter.

"Hello again," said the man.

"Hi, I was wondering if you could call a taxi for me?" Ginny asked, hoping she had said it right.

"Of course, it might be a bit of a wait, but if you sit over there on the bench, as before, then the driver can find you."

"Thank you," said Ginny, as she was about to make her way to the bench.

"You didn't come in on a train, did you?" the ticket office clerk asked.

_Think Ginny, think._ "No, a friend dropped me off nearby, and I walked here."

"Ah, I see," said the man. "I knew we hadn't had a train in for thirty minutes or so." Seemingly having his curiosity answered, he went off to phone for a taxi.

_Whew,_ she thought, as she sat on the bench. _It's a good job he didn't ask, 'I didn't see you walk in?' because I wouldn't have a clue how to answer that convincingly._

The wait was a bit longer than before, but finally a man with grey hair and a neatly trimmed beard walked in.

"Did you call for a taxi, love?" he asked. Ginny nodded and stood up, following as the man led on to his small taxi outside the station.

"So where to?" the driver asked.

"Great Hangleton, please."

"Anywhere particular in the village?"

"The White Hart pub."

"I know it quite well," said the driver. "Are you visiting family or going there on work?"

_Oh great, questions again,_ she thought, _why don't people mind their own business!_ "A bit of both really."

"Do you WAAFS ever have anything to do with the Yanks?" he asked.

"Not a lot, no."

"Perhaps that's just as well, they can be a bit sort of forward," he said jovially.

_If you ask anymore questions,_ Ginny directed her thoughts at the taxi driver, _you're seconds away from being turned into a ferret!_

Ginny pulled out her papers and made a point of reading them, and looking like she was sorting through them. She was aware of the driver glancing at her in his mirror, but thankfully the rest of the journey was broken only by a little chugging up a hill, upon which the driver swore about wartime petrol as the previous driver had; the rest of the time it was the odd bit of irrelevant talk about the weather.

With her heart still beating a bit faster and heavier than normal, Ginny was very relieved to see the taxi had reached the main street of Great Hangleton and in a minute she was dropped off at The White Hart. She was proud with how unflustered she had been in paying the driver, but was glad to get a few breaths of fresh air before entering the pub.

_I can do this_, she thought, _it's just another step that I need to take, to get closer to finding Hermione._ The thought of her friend, gave her more resolve and she walked into the pub as though she was supposed to be there and not with her head down.

She walked to the bar and saw a shadow of someone moving around in the kitchen beyond. "Hello?" she called. The shadow had been Lottie, and it was the plump landlady who walked forward.

"Well, hello again," said Lottie. "What brings you back our way?"

"Mostly work," said Ginny.

"Is your friend with you?" asked Lottie, looking past Ginny to see where Hermione was.

"Not at the moment," said Ginny, and quickly thought. "She might be here at a later date, it just depends. Anyway, I was wondering if I could rent a room here again?"

"Of course," said Lottie. "The same one you had before, all right?"

"Yes, it was lovely."

"That will be a shilling a night."

Ginny handed over a shilling, not knowing how long she would be staying, and then followed Lottie up to the same room that she and Hermione had shared only a couple of days before. It all made her stomach feel unsettled, to retrace the steps where she and Hermione had so recently been together, before the nightmare of Morfin Gaunt.

Looking at a little clock in the room, Ginny saw that it was just gone 11am. _I have time to do a quick search of the churchyard, _she thought._ Even if it's not thorough, I can do a little preliminary check on it._

She sat on the bed for a few minutes, just trying to clear her head, before standing up and making her way to the door; not leaving anything in the room.

As she passed the bar, Lottie saw her. "Off out already?"

"Yeah, I thought I'd just take a little look at the church," said Ginny, truthfully.

"Will you be wanting lunch here?" Lottie asked.

"Yes, I won't be long, I'll be back for then," smiled Ginny, as she walked out of the door.

**A/N: You might be a bit frustrated that Hermione's whereabouts are still unknown after this chapter. Chapter 28 will shed some light on that...I promise. ;)**


	28. Revelations

**A/N: I've decided not to let you wait too long for chapter 28. That and the fact, if I didn't post it now, it might be several more days before I get the time.**

**When I wrote this segment, I had several choices for where I wanted this part of the story to go. But I stuck with the original plan I had all along. I'll let you know why I've chosen to do things the way I have at the end of the chapter. :)**

28: Revelations

Now that Ginny was alone and would be facing everyone alone too, she felt more irritated by the questions people asked. It felt worse than being told what she could and couldn't do at school. She liked Lottie and her husband Alf, but she still felt ruffled by being asked where Hermione was, and where she was going and wondering if she would be back by lunch.

_You're just a little tense and paranoid_, Ginny thought, _just stay calm and accept that people will always ask things._

She walked across the main street to the church, immediately noticing the huge difference in the way she felt since the last time she had been to the church. Only a few days ago they had been having a little fun with the two American soldiers, and everything still felt like an adventure. But now, Ginny felt a little broken, and it wasn't just her hand.

Entering through the church gate, Ginny was relieved to see that no one was in the churchyard, and as she walked slowly up the church path she looked around to see if she could find the area she needed.

_Dumbledore said the blood was found near shrubs,_ she thought. Looking around the well kept churchyard there were only a few areas of shrubs at the edges, near to the churchyard walls in the corners.

Ginny began to walk at a leisurely pace, along a row of gravestones towards the corner she wanted to look at first. She wanted to make sure that to anyone who might observe, she was not searching for anything in particular and looking at everything. In truth she wasn't all that comfortable looking at the gravestones, it made her think of her dream about Fred, Harry and Hermione's graves and that was still raw in her mind.

On reaching the corner, she looked at the shrubs, making a show of regarding the stems and twig-like growths of the plants as if she was some kind of gardening expert; but her eyes were not on the plant stems in her hand, but on the ground. She moved her foot to scuff back some of the overgrown parts of the shrubs, but she couldn't see any blood. Ginny was knowledgable enough to know the blood wouldn't necessarily look red, and it was more likely to be a dark maroon or even just a dark patch on the earth. The fact it was dry weather, was a bonus, as any mark of blood would show up.

Leaving the first area of shrubs, she walked along the line of the churchyard wall towards another corner that had more shrubs and overgrown brambles. She still occasionally looked with apparent interest at the gravestones she passed, before stopping at the corner.

Once more, Ginny made a pretense of looking at some plants there, as she studied the ground. And there it was. Where she shoved back some branches and twigs from the undergrowth to reveal the dry hard-packed soil underneath, was a darker patch on the ground. It was quite a large patch of blood and on closer inspection Ginny could see that someone had definitely been in the bushes; there were broken stems and flattened leaves.

_She was here_, Ginny thought, _Where did you go, Hermione?_

Ginny had looked around the whole churchyard before she made her way back to The White Hart and had spent over an hour wandering around looking at the place. Apart from the one area of shrubs, where she found the dark patch on the ground and the disturbed bushes, there was nothing else she could discern. There were no patches of burning, as Dumbledore had said were found at the shack, there wasn't much to go on at all.

She walked back into the pub, feeling a little cold. Hermione had their greatcoats in her bag, and Ginny hadn't thought of trying to transfigure some old clothes in Dumbledore's house into a new greatcoat.

"What would you like for lunch?" Lottie asked, as she saw Ginny return. "There's a choice or either fish and chips, or vegetable stew."

"I'll have the stew, please," said Ginny, thinking the stew would warm her up.

"Anything to drink?"

"A shandy, please."

"It won't be long," said, Lottie bustling back off to the kitchen.

Ginny sat down at a table, deep in thought. _What do I do next? Do I start a subtle conversation and do as Dumbledore suggested, asking if anything unusual has happened lately? _

About twenty minutes later Lottie came through, with her stew and shandy. "There you go," the landlady said cheerfully. "Do you know how long you'll be staying this time?"

"I'm not sure, yet," Ginny answered truthfully. "It depends. Is that a problem?"

"No, not at all, we don't usually get many people this time of year, and the war has made trade for renting rooms around here even less."

"Oh, will you need my ration book, if I stay for more than a day?" asked Ginny, remembering what they had been asked at The Hanged Man.

"No dear, we don't like doing that here, we don't need to either," said the landlady tapping her nose and winking conspiratorially.

_Ah, their interesting supply of items from the Americans makes that possible,_ thought Ginny. "I just wondered because they said they'd need it at The Hanged Man."

"Yes, well, they would _there_," said Lottie, with a fleeting look of disapproval. "I'm sorry to be so blunt but when it comes to money and generosity the Masseys are as tight as a duck's arse on a frosty morning."

Ginny grinned. "I see."

"Mind you, it must be hard on Ada at the moment."

"Is she having trouble with the pub?"

"Not yet, but she might soon," Lottie walked closer to the table as Ginny tried a mouthful of stew. "The word is, her husband has left her."

"Really?" asked Ginny. "He was around when Her...Helen and I left Little Hangleton on Wednesday morning."

"That's the day he went off," said Lottie.

Ginny only just avoided choking on her next mouthful of stew. _Interesting,_ she thought. "Did he leave a note?"

"No, and that's the odd thing," Lottie said, now taking a seat opposite Ginny. "No note, and he didn't take any of his things with him."

Taking a deliberate sip of her shandy to keep calm, Ginny nodded. "That's very strange. There was no sign of him at all?"

"No," said Lottie again. "Of course the way word travels, some of my regulars have said he's been planning it for a while, and some trollop picked him up in her car and he's run off with her."

"Oh? I suppose you can never really know what a person is thinking," said Ginny, quite neutrally. _This is good,_ she thought, _I've got information coming to me without even trying_.

"Forty years those two had been married, _forty_ years," emphasized Lottie. "You'd have thought Ada would have noticed something different, wouldn't you? Aside from the fact I can't imagine what any woman would see in him, men are hopeless liars in my opinion; she must have sensed he was acting differently?"

"That's sad," said Ginny, still playing the polite, interested customer.

"A regular of mine says they went and searched that old mad man's house in the woods near the village yesterday, thinking he'd offed him," said Lottie.

This time, Ginny _did_ cough on her stew, took a sip of shandy and managed to deflect her surprise by saying, "A mad man? Why did they think he had something to do with it?"

"Someone said John Massey had started to visit the old bugger in recent months, taking him food and such. I mean, it was good of him and everything, but that old man might well have done away with him. A complete basket case, same as all his family were. The old bugger had been living there for years, why suddenly take pity on him?"

"I don't suppose anyone can answer that except Mr. Massey," said Ginny, rather proud of her conversational abilities. "But you say they didn't find anything at the old man's house? Nothing unusual?"

"No. Ada had the local bobbies on the case, as if the police haven't enough things to deal with these days. They had to handcuff the old man to get into his house, he injured one of them, the mad old codger, but they found nothing," said Lottie. "If the Masseys weren't owners of The Hanged Man, I doubt the police would have bothered to look that soon after a disappearance."

"Well, I hope they find out what happened soon," said Ginny.

"Yes," said Lottie. "Anyway, I'll leave you to your lunch," she said as she got up and went back to the kitchen.

Ginny ate the rest of her stew, which was really rather good, with her mind taking in all that she had heard. _John Massey went missing or left, on the day Hermione and I carried out our plan...which went slightly wrong. Massey used to visit Gaunt, but Massey nor his body were found at the shack. Which means, something has happened to Massey as it has Hermione, or maybe Massey was going to the shack and a friend of Voldemort's was there after I triggered the warding and Massey was in the way? Perhaps he was killed and taken somewhere to be dumped? It doesn't sound like he left his wife, however fickle men can be sometimes. Or..._she thought this less likely,_ did Massey have something to do with Hermione's disappearance? He didn't look dodgy, although you can never judge a book by its cover. Hmm, this is interesting and probably connected to Hermione, but it's not helping to find her._

She was still miles away thinking, as she sipped the last of her shandy when she heard someone speak at the bar. "Hey, Lottie, Alf? You guys around?"

The redhead saw it was the American soldiers, Matt and Joe, as Lottie greeted them with smiles, while they handed over a box of unknown items. She wasn't sure how she felt about seeing the Americans again. It was a distraction and a possibly very awkward occurrance that she would have liked to have missed.

Ginny tried hard not to look their way, and studied her glass. She did the same trick as with the taxi driver, in pulling out her papers to sort through them. At the outer edges of her vision, she was aware that Joe had nudged Matt and both had taken a look in her direction. Then they were whispering together, and as it looked like Joe was about to move, Matt grabbed his arm and whispered something else to his friend.

_If I just get up and go upstairs, then they won't have to decide if they want to come over or not,_ thought Ginny. _No doubt they've met someone else already and are worried about being seen with me again. I really couldn't care less about all that._

So studying her papers, and folding them back up for her pocket, she rose from her seat and without looking their way, she quietly went through the door to the hallway and stairs. _I'll settle up with Lottie for lunch, later_. On reaching her room, she closed the door behind her and flopped down on her bed. _Men!_ she thought, _they always have to make things difficult._

Closing her eyes, Ginny went through all the information Dumbledore had given her, along with what she had found herself and also the things Lottie had told her. She wondered if by thinking things through enough, she might be able to find something within that information. Hermione was good at seeing both the logical and the lateral answers to problems, and she missed her friend even more at that moment. _You would have seen something important here,_ _Hermione, I know it._

How long she had been thinking over things, she didn't know; it might have been minutes, or even half an hour, when she heard a knock on the room's door.

"Miss Townsend?" called Lottie from the other side of the door.

Ginny wondered what the woman wanted, but got off the bed and went to the door, opening it. Lottie stood there and said. "Would you be able to come downstairs for a little while?"

"I can do, but why? Is something wrong?"

"Someone would like to talk to you."

"Who?"

"Matt and Joe, the American lads you met a couple of days ago."

Ginny was going to think of a way to say no, and Lottie could see that too. "They only want to say hello," the landlady added.

"Oh all right," said Ginny, thinking a quick chat with someone else would give her mind a rest.

She followed Lottie down the stairs and was about to go into the bar, when the landlady said. "They're in our sitting room, this way," she said, steering Ginny to the living quarters side of the pub.

Entering the sitting room Ginny saw that Joe was seated on a sofa and Matt was standing looking out of a window; both looked round when they heard the door open.

"I'll leave you to it, then," said Lottie, closing the door behind her as she went back to the pub kitchen.

Joe looked at Ginny, and met her eyes, and she was aware that Matt was looking at her too, but no one spoke for an awkward few moments. It annoyed Ginny; she had been asked to see them and they weren't going to talk to her? It bristled her Weasley temper a little.

"_Hello?_" said Ginny. "Lottie said you wanted to talk to me, so I'm here. But if you aren't going to say anything, I might as well go again." She made to go to the door, but Matt managed to get between her and the door in two steps.

"What are you doing?" Ginny exclaimed.

"We can't let you leave," said Matt, and when he saw the anger in Ginny's face he quickly added. "Not yet...we've hardly seen you."

"You can't make me stay," said a very annoyed Ginny. "I'm not going to play some stupid game. Now get out of my way."

"Where's Helen?" asked Matt.

_Merlin's baggy skid-marked pants! He still wants Hermione,_ Ginny groaned silently to herself. "She's not here," she answered.

"Where is she?"

Ginny had to think quickly, and often something that had a lot of truth to it worked the best. "I don't know, exactly."

"How come you're back here again?" asked Joe.

"I can't tell you, but it's related to my work," said Ginny, trying to keep calm and getting fleeting images of turning Joe into a hamster or some other furry creature, like she had with the taxi driver.

"Didn't get finished with something, eh?" asked Matt with a laugh. He still stood between her and the door. When she made to move to get him away from the door again he said, "Please, just sit down and talk with us."

Ginny could see she wasn't going to get any peace or get out of the room any other way, but she began to feel very uneasy. "Argh! All right, but you're trying my patience!" she waggled her finger at Matt. She went and sat on a slightly saggy sofa opposite Joe, as Matt sat in an armchair. "What do you want to talk about that's so important to almost imprison me in this room?" asked a still bristling Ginny.

"So where have you been since we last saw each other?" Joe asked cheerfully.

"Well, I can't tell you exact locations," Ginny managed to say convincingly. "Around the area a bit."

"It was a surprise to see you," said Matt. "You girls didn't sound like you'd ever be back this way? A _nice_ surprise."

"No, we didn't think we would be, but...things change," answered Ginny.

"Have you and Helen often worked apart?" asked Matt.

"Sometimes," said Ginny, whose heart was thumping harder in her chest now. "What is this? A job interview? An exam?"

Matt chuckled. "Sorry, we're being a bit persistent aren't we?" Ginny just gave him an incredulous look. "I bet you could slap me silly if you wanted to?" he said.

"I grew up with several brothers," Ginny said, as if that answered the question with a very definite 'yes'. At that moment she would have liked to have slapped both of them silly.

"Yeah, I can imagine you getting a temper and showing the boys a thing or two," laughed Joe.

Ginny looked from Matt to Joe, and thought the conversation was getting to be very strange indeed, and she started to feel tired from all the questions. She made to get up. "Well, it's been nice seeing you again, but I need to go and..."

"Not yet!" said Matt, edging forward on his seat as if he was going to pounce on her.

"Look, just what the bloody hell are you two playing at?" Ginny said, raising her voice angrily. "I've talked with you, you've seen that Helen isn't with me and I don't know if she'll be this way again. If all we're going to talk about is whether I can punch my brothers then there's nothing else to say?"

"I'd disagree," said Joe. "Wouldn't you Matt?"

"'Nothing else to say'," said Matt, echoing Ginny in a strange voice. He got up from his chair and sat next to her on the sofa, before rounding on her and grasping her hands almost painfully. "What about you murdering Helen and leaving her to die in a pool of blood?"

"What?" Ginny's eyes nearly popped out.

"Don't play the innocent!" said Matt. "You were the last person seen with her. Have you come back because you're afraid you didn't do the job properly the first time?"

"What? Leave her to...d...die?" Ginny said again, completely stunned and unable to make sense of what they were saying, and feeling the familiarity of the phrase from her dream about visiting Hermione's grave. "I...I don't understand."

"Like hell you don't!" Matt nearly shouted.

"She's dead?" asked Ginny in a small voice, her mind working at a frantic pace to make sense of things and getting nowhere... _Hermione, no. Dead? No, please no!_

"Oh, now you're interested?"

"Tell me, is Helen dead?" asked Ginny again. "TELL ME?"

"What if she wasn't? Would you just hunt her down and finish her off?" Joe suggested.

"No, I didn't hurt her! You have to believe me!"

"And why should we do that?" questioned Matt.

"I didn't hurt her!" Ginny said again, looking him straight in the eye, trying to show him she was telling the truth; feeling a tightness in her throat. "Why would you think that? She's my best friend."

"So why are you back, alone?"

"I...I..." Ginny felt a tear roll down her cheek. "I was looking for her." Matt just looked at Joe, unconvinced. "I didn't know what had happened to her."

"What did you _think_ had happened to her?" asked a curious Matt.

"I...I can't tell you that," said Ginny. "To tell you that, would be to...to break a secret. I _can_ tell you she went missing, and I didn't know where or why, or if she was all right. I came to find her, to..."

"To _what_?" asked Joe.

"To take her home...whether she was alive or dead. I...I promised her that if something should happen, that I would find her, and she promised the same to me," said Ginny, somehow managing to give the men some truth without too much detail, hot tears flowing down both cheeks now. "Do you know where she is, her...her body?"

"I think she's telling the truth," said Joe. "Or as much as she can tell us."

Ginny looked up hopeful. "Please, do you know where she is?"

Matt gave an almost imperceptible nod to Joe before looking to Ginny. "Yes," he said.

"She's d..dead, isn't she?" Ginny said, her voice nearly going up an octave. When Matt shook his head she asked with hope burning inside her, "She's _alive_?"

"No thanks to you," said Matt.

"I didn't hurt her! How many times do I have to say that?" said an exhausted Ginny, but inside she felt a slight lifting feeling. _Hermione's alive_, she thought, _she's alive! _However she was soon distracted back to the present.

"Then why did you leave her? You were in the area, why didn't you come straight back here and look?" asked Matt, still accusatory in tone.

"Again, I...I can't really tell you the details, but I didn't know where she had gone," said Ginny trying to think very quickly, which in her current state was extremely hard. "We were split up. I had to go back...home, to get some advice."

"Your Commanding Officer, you mean?" interjected Joe.

"Yes," Ginny said, knowing that sounded about right.

"I get that. We all have to follow orders, don't we?" said Joe, much more relaxed than he had been several minutes earlier, when they thought they were confronting a potential murderer.

Ginny just gave him a nod of agreement. _Something tells me, Joe, you've never taken orders from a wizard who has consulted with his older self from the future!_ thought Ginny wryly.

"I just think it stinks, leaving her like that," said Matt, shaking his head. "You never leave your buddies. Not like that."

"I didn't have a choice," said Ginny, wiping her tears from her cheeks. "I didn't know where she was, so I had to follow what we had agreed upon."

There was a moment of silence again before Ginny asked, "Please, where is she? I have to find her."

"We can take you to see her, but we need to sort a few things out first," said Matt.

"Can I see her now? Today?"

"I doubt it, not until tomorrow at the earliest...maybe."

"Is she going to be all right? Please, I have to know?"

"I don't know much about medicine," said Matt. "But she's a tough little cookie. She's made it this far," he carried straight on, guessing what Ginny was going to ask him next. "I can't tell you about her injuries now, but if you get clearance you'll be told," he smiled.

"Hang on," said Ginny, her mind now catching up with all the information and realizing she had heard a unfamiliar word. "I need _clearance_? Where the hell is she?"

"At the Hospital Wing on the base," replied Matt.

"She's not in a mug...regular hospital?" asked a confused Ginny, looking from Matt to Joe; she had been very close to saying 'muggle hospital' and caught herself just in time.

"No," said Joe. "We found her, and the one thing she was able to tell us and seemed desperate about was not going to hospital."

"You found her?" Ginny asked, surprised.

"Yeah," said Matt. "And just in time. If you'd been the one to do that to her, and even if you hadn't, we figured you girls must be involved in some pretty serious shit, so we thought keeping it to military business was the best we could do. Helen wouldn't even give the name of your unit or Commanding Officer to contact him." He said that sentence with a bit of expectance in his voice, hoping Ginny would give him at least a hint on what they were involved in, before adding. "Our own officers are not too happy with us. They don't like the thought of treading on our Allies' toes, or getting involved with something we should have left well alone."

"I'm sorry I...can't tell you anything about...our work," said Ginny. "I..."

"Yeah, secret war business, right?" said Matt, disappointed, but also understanding that in wartime you had to keep your mouth shut about a lot of things.

"How come Lottie didn't say anything to me, when I arrived? She asked where Helen was but no more?" Ginny continued on, "But she must have seen something, if you went to the churchyard and found Helen there?"

"How do you know that?" Joe asked, suspicious again. "If you didn't know where she was, but you knew she was there?"

"I...I can't tell you how I know that," said Ginny, hating that she was sounding as repetitive as Humphrey the door knocker, waiting for the accusations and suspicions to be thrown at her again. "I...we...that is to say, I was told she might have been there at some point. But I didn't know _that_ until last night...and then I found the blood at the churchyard before lunch. I still don't know what has happened to her, or how she got there." _It's the truth,_ she thought, _they have to see that. _"Anyway," she quickly tried to move on, "How come Lottie wasn't interrogating me when I walked into the pub?"

"We didn't tell her," said Matt. "We kept it as military business and stopped anyone from being able to see what was going on when we got our base ambulance here. It was tough, and Lottie and Alf tried hard to get it out of us, but we didn't tell them. I'm hoping they think it was one of our guys found in a bad way."

"What does Lottie think we're doing in here now? She must have heard raised voices?" asked Ginny, worried.

"Again, she thinks it's military business," said Joe. "And it kinda is, really. If she's heard anything she won't talk about it. Things like this, those people know how to keep quiet. Village gossip is one thing, something more serious, they understand."

"Well, how can I get to your base? How will I know when I can see Her...Helen?" asked Ginny, nearly slipping up again.

"We'll come and get you and escort you there," said Matt. "Look, sit tight, stay here and hopefully we'll come and get you tomorrow. Do you have an ID? Because we'll need something to get you clearance."

Ginny didn't feel all that happy about handing over her identity cards, but she was relieved to see that Matt had a little notebook and scribbled down her particulars, before handing her cards back. "You'll need to show those again, if we can take you to the base," Matt said

"Can I leave the room now?" Ginny asked, wanting nothing more than to get to her room and lie down, maybe throw a blanket over her head and try to feel like she had disappeared.

"Sure," said Matt, opening his arms in a free way. "You understand why we were the way we were, before?

"Not really," said Ginny, standing up. "Why you jumped to the conclusion that I'd tried to murder my friend, I'll never know? If you knew anything about me, you'd know how proposterous that notion was!"

"Hey, we don't know you, not really, and one of the first things Helen said, when we asked her what had happened, was 'My friend'...we thought she meant...well...all right we jumped to conclusions," said Matt standing, raising his hands apologetically, almost afraid Ginny was going to strike him, which she felt like doing.

"If I _had _hurt her or _murdered_ her, wouldn't I be stupid to come back so soon?" Ginny asked, rolling her eyes. "If she were dead, I'd be right back at the scene of the crime, which even the most stupid of evil gits wouldn't do. And if I hadn't killed her properly, then I'd be running as far away as possible, not skulking back and waiting for her to point at me from her sick bed!"

"So we got it wrong, okay?" said an equally apologetic Joe. "What are you, Agatha Christie's niece or something?"

"No," Ginny said, unsure who Agatha Christie was and skipping over it. "I just have more than two brain cells to rub together!" she said, unable to stop the slight insult. Thankfully the American soldiers smiled when they heard that and didn't seem to take offence to it.

Matt opened the door for her and she walked out of the room heading for the stairs, aware that Lottie and Alf were in the kitchen nearby and Lottie had peeped around the door when she heard the door open.

"Stay around the pub," Matt called after her. "Then we'll be able to find you quickly."

Ginny didn't answer but thought to herself, _why, so you can come and accuse me of attempted murder again?_

On reaching her room, she kicked off her shoes and laid on the bed on her side, curling up into almost the foetal position. Tears came to her eyes again. _You're alive, Hermione_, she thought happy and overwhelmed by everything, _you're alive and I know where you are. _She considered what might have happened to Hermione, and hoped she would basically be okay, and that whatever injuries she had would heal and leave no lasting damage. She badly wanted to see her now, this very moment, but knew she would have to be a little more patient.

However, another thought came to Ginny, and it made her feel even more anxious.

**A/N: I could have gone all fantastical and had Hermione kidnapped by time-travelling Death Eaters or ancestors of the Malfoys or something else, but that would then drift off on a tangent and be a long way away from where I wanted to keep things grounded. It would also have added a much too big sub story, which I didn't want. Hermione's disappearance is not the the main story, it's only a small part of the bigger picture and provides a little catalyst for other things. So I opted for a perhaps surprising(or disappointing for some readers) simple choice, which I preferred and wanted to go with from the start. Plus I liked my yanky boys! :) That's not to say everything about the situation is going to be simple... ;)**


	29. Lost and Found

**A/N: This might not be the most exciting chapter, but it's needed to link up with other things later. :)**

29: Lost and Found

Ginny sat bolt upright on the bed as the thought had hit her. _The Ring! The beaded bag! Shit, Hermione better still have them? _Then another thought came to her..._her wand! She would have had it in her hand or close to her hand to Apparate to the churchyard. What if she dropped it?_

Feeling her head start to ache, from all the stress and barrow-loads of information she had just had to process, she sat on the edge of the bed, leaning over with her head in her hands, trying to take calming breaths and form some logical thoughts.

_I'll check the churchyard again, _she thought, _I didn't think of her wand before, so I might not have noticed it as anything other than a shrub's branch or twig._

It occurred to her that Matt and Joe would probably still be downstairs and that annoyed her again. _First they accuse me of attempted murder, and now they're in the way of me checking out the churchyard again. Arrgghh!_

Taking a few more calming breaths, Ginny could feel her head pulsing. She didn't have any headache potion with her, but decided to lie back on the bed again. She had to kill some time, and resting enough to make her head better would only be of help. If she fell asleep and had a weird dream, so be it.

As it turned out she only dozed for a few minutes, not long enough to have any dreams, but her head was a little better. She thought about lying there a while longer, when she heard a knock on her door again.

_What now?_ she thought. "Yes?" she called out.

"It's only me," replied Lottie.

"Come in," said Ginny, moving again to sit on the edge of the bed.

Lottie came into the room with a cup of tea, which she set on the table next to the bed. "I thought you could do with a cuppa," she said kindly.

"Thank you," replied Ginny, surprised by the gesture.

"Are you all right, love? It's just I heard you arguing with the boys?"

_Wonderful! She's fishing for details_, thought a tired Ginny. "I'm sorry, I can't really talk about it," she said, sighing at having yet more questions. "It's something they thought I did, a misunderstanding...to do with my work." She tried to think fast and say as much as she could without giving anything away. "They're going to try and get me clearance to go to the base and talk to...some people there." _Whew, that sounded just about convincing,_ she thought.

"Oh I see," said Lottie, who then smiled. "I wondered if it was affairs of the heart?"

"No," said Ginny, wanting to roll her eyes, but stopping herself from doing so. "I've been a bit tired lately, I have a headache and I wasn't in the mood to be prodded by those two...that's all."

"Men often trample over others, like bulls in a china shop, not thinking about how a person feels," said Lottie. "Matt and Joe are nice boys, but they're still men."

Ginny smiled, then reached into her pocket for her purse. "I haven't paid you for lunch yet."

"All taken care of," said Lottie, raising a hand. "The boys paid for it."

"They _did_?"

"Maybe to make up for upsetting you?" suggested Lottie.

_Or maybe feeling guilty they accused me of attempted murder,_ thought Ginny amused. "Are they still around?"

"No. After you left the sitting room, they said they'd start walking back to the base instead of waiting for one of their jeeps to pick them up as usual. They'd hardly been here today yet."

"I expect they wanted to sort out my papers, or whatever," said Ginny. _Good, they've gone. I can go to the churchyard._

Lottie left again, closing the door behind her. Ginny drank her tea, and her headache was almost gone when she got up and decided to go over to the church again.

As she walked through the bar, Alf was cleaning the bar's counter. "Off out?" he said.

_What is it with questions today?_ Ginny thought angrily. "Yes, just going for a walk to clear my head," she answered evenly. The landlord just nodded his head and smiled.

Deciding not to be too obvious, Ginny walked down the street away from the church for a while, before crossing and walking up the other side; all done at a slow pace. It was the middle of the afternoon now, and on reaching the church gate, she chose to walk to the opposite side of the church to where she needed to be; that way, if she happened to be observed, it didn't look like she was heading for any definite place.

After glancing at more gravestones than she cared to, and taking several supposedly interested looks at the church building itself, she had finally made her way to the shrubby area where Hermione had been.

Ginny scuffed her foot under the shrubs, trying to hook out anything unseen in the undergrowth. She thought she had connected with something, but couldn't free it using her foot. It would look very strange to see her crouch down and scrabble with her hands under the shrubs. It was then she became aware of her own wand inside her jacket sleeve.

_Dumbledore was sure the warding was just for Little Hangleton and the small area around that village,_ she thought. _I'll just have to be ready for anything that happens._

Looking around her to make sure no one was walking her way or looking in her direction, she took out her wand from her sleeve and subtly pointed it at the shrubs. "_Accio_ Hermione's wand," she said quietly and thinking of other things she added, "_Accio_ Hermione's possessions."

There was a rustling sound from the shrubs in front of her, and some movement which made the shrubs look like a miniature Whomping Willow, then suddenly a wooden stick-like object flew out of the undergrowth and hit her on her right hand.

"Bloody hell!" she said in a muffled way, trying not to feel the pain of Hermione's wand hitting her directly on the broken bone in her hand, making her have to flap it around in an attempt to stop it hurting. Any other ordinary time Ginny would have caught the wand, but this wasn't an ordinary time, ordinary day, or ordinary anything.

Still flexing her hurt hand, she bent over to pick up Hermione's wand that had ended up near her feet, and placed it up one of her sleeves. Nothing else had come out of the vegetation so she was hopeful it was only the wand that her friend had left behind. _I just hope the Ring and beaded bag are safely with her, _thought Ginny. _At least I checked here, though._

She looked around her again, making sure she was alone and that she hadn't set off some magical alarm. For several minutes she walked very slowly, back the way she had come, keeping her eyes and ears alert. Thankfully nothing happened, and before reaching the church gate, she slid her own wand up her other sleeve.

_I'm so glad I found her wand,_ Ginny thought. _What if I hadn't thought of it? Anyone could have found it, or we would be stranded with only my wand._

Feeling relieved and a little pleased with herself, Ginny went back to The White Hart, looking up at the pub sign of the white stag. _I know you would have thought of checking for her wand straight away, Harry,_ she thought to herself, _but we're not all Chosen Ones, are we?_

What was left of the afternoon, she spent in her room, reading a few pages of the Muggle Seaside book, making a mental note that she really ought to visit Blackpool and Brighton one of these days; both places sounded fascinating.

Ginny went downstairs for a light dinner of leek and potato soup and then spent the evening back in her room reading. She had asked Alf if anyone had wanted the newspaper she saw discarded on one of the tables; when he said she could take it to read, she did so.

The newspaper was mostly gloomy, even more so with static non-moving photos. There were bomb damage reports from around Britain, and then reports of offensives from the Allies, including their own bombing raids. _So, death and destruction all around for everyone,_ she thought sadly. There were lots of obituaries of fallen soldiers, airmen and sailors, put into the paper by their families. It was very depressing. One of the only highlights was reading about a dog awarded a medal for finding several people trapped in rubble over the last few months. There were some interesting recipes, including one for apricot pie, with the clever part being the fact there were no apricots in it, as they weren't available, and it was carrots covered in plum jam.

A little weary and with a slight headache again, Ginny decided to get ready for bed around 9.15pm. She went across to the bathroom to freshen up, then changed into the long striped nightshirt she had brought with her. For some reason she hadn't transfigured it into something else. _It's comfortable the way it is, so why change it?_ she thought. Her hand was still feeling sore from having Hermione's wand hit it, so she brought out the potion that Dumbledore had given her and applied some, feeling the tingling sensation take away any discomfort.

With a wry smile to herself she bunched up the spare pillows into the bedcovers, as she had done at Godric's Hollow, to give the feeling that she wasn't alone as she slept. _Yes, I know it's pathetic,_ she thought, _but I do what I feel I must. There's no law against it! _

Ginny got into bed and laid on her side, feeling the lump of pillows behind her. Instead of hoping she wouldn't have any stupid or horrible dreams, she simply thought to herself, _I wonder what I'll see tonight?_ She realized that trying to ward off her dreams was a hopeless, impossible task, so she just expected anything. _The main thing is, Hermione is alive, probably safe for the moment, but alive! _She closed her eyes with a smile on her face.

XXXXXXXXXX

Two days earlier, she had heard voices, at least Hermione thought there were voices; she might have _dreamed_ voices, nothing was certain to her at that moment. She opened her eyes feeling weak and oddly her clothes felt wet and warm as well. It was then she remembered that she was in some bushes and shrubs in Great Hangleton churchyard and that she had recently had a duel with John Massey.

Looking at herself the best she could, as she was oddly unable to move much, she could see the two pieces of branch sticking out of her jacket and the blood. _I see I didn't spill a cup of tea over myself, then? s_he thought. Strangely she didn't feel much discomfort and couldn't feel much in the way of pain, and that disbturbed her a little. It made her think of books and movies where a person suddenly felt better and comfortable just before they died.

Hermione was the first to admit that as much as she was interested in the medical branch of magic, she had as of yet not mastered anything really useful; certainly not anything as tricky as removing the pieces of branch that she was impaled with.

She laid her head back down, trying to think, even though she felt sleepy and slow, and then she heard the voices again; male voices if she wasn't mistaken. _I didn't _dream _those voices. _For a nasty moment she wondered if John Massey had made his way to Great Hangleton, looking for her. _Why would he think I came here?_ she thought. _No, it's very unlikely it's that old git, thank Gryffindor and all the fairies!_

Another thought came hot on the heels of her apprehensive John Massey thought. _My wand! Where did my wand go? _She felt around with her hands, to either side of her, but didn't grasp anything that felt like her wand. The voices were getting closer...

"He's bullshitting," said one man.

"No, he says he loves this chick and he's already gone to old Stew to ask permission to get married," said a second man.

"No way! He's only nineteen, what a dumbass!"

Hermione heard the chatter and it seemed to feel familiar. _Chick? Dumbass?_ she thought a little groggily, _they have to be Americans, surely? _

"There's no swaying him, he said he's...," the voice tailed off in mid sentence.

"What?"

"Over there, is that someone lying under a bush?"

Hermione was torn between wanting to be found, because she knew she wouldn't survive much longer in the state she was in, and on the other hand she wasn't sure she wanted to be found, because of all the difficulties she would be faced with. If she could get back to Godric's Hollow, Dumbledore would know what to do and hopefully Ginny would be there. _Oh god, Ginny,_ she thought, _what will she be thinking? What will she do?_

"Jesus!" said a voice that Hermione thought, hopefully, might belong to Matt Riccardi, the American soldier she and Ginny had met a couple of days ago. The bushes and vegetation were pulled back to uncover Hermione a little more.

"Shit!" said the second man, which Hermione thought might be Joe. She tried to open her tired eyes again and saw that her first assumptions had been correct.

"She's alive!" said Matt. "Holy shit! We need to get her to a hospital."

"Nooo," Hermione managed to say. "No hospital! Can't!"

"You need help, and now!" said Matt. "What the hell happened here?"

"My friend," Hermione said, seemingly unable to form full sentences. "Friend."

"What's she saying, Matt?" asked Joe. "Her friend Joan has something to do with this?"

"Gin," Hermione groaned, an overwhelming urge to sleep coming over her. "Gin...,"

Matt got hold of Hermione's arm and nudged it slightly to try to keep her conscious. "You gotta stay awake, honey."

Hermione wanted to laugh, feeling a little delirious. _Did he call me 'honey'? Hehehe! Hermyhoney. _ Then she managed to say again. "No hospital, can't. Must not."

"Shit Matt, what do we do?"

"I don't know what happened here," said Matt. "But if it's something to do with her duties or something they were working on, maybe that's why she doesn't want the hospital involved." He seemed to make a decision then. "Stay with her, and try to keep her awake, and whatever you do, don't move those wooden stakes."

"Where are you going?" asked Joe, as he saw his friend stand and start walking away, breaking into a run.

"I'm going to use the pub's phone, call the base."

Hermione wasn't entirely sure what Joe was saying to her as he kept talking, trying to keep her awake. At one point she was sure he was describing his family home and the gardens and farmlands there. All she wanted to do was sleep. She could feel an odd burning feeling in her chest and stomach now.

Once or twice Joe asked her where Ginny was, or more precisely where 'Joan' was, and apart from a grunt and a 'don't know' she couldn't tell him anything. The truth was she didn't know for sure; she hoped that the redhead was back at Godric's Hollow, _But what will she do when I don't arrive back there?_ she thought, worried.

Matt came back and with Joe, they gently moved her so she wasn't half under the shrubs. In an uncertain time frame some more people arrived, all with American accents and Hermione was aware of being lifted and then moved, probably onto a stretcher and put into the back of a van, which she assumed was an ambulance. It made a deep rumbling sound as the engine was started again. She heard Matt say to someone, "There's nothing to see here." Then, "Sorry Alf, I can't tell you anything. It's an army matter." He then climbed in and sat on a seat opposite her, as someone was checking her over, presumably a doctor or nurse.

"No hospital," Hermione said again.

Matt took her hand, "We're not taking you there, we're going to the base."

Hermione wasn't sure how she felt about that, or what the consequences would be in going there. It hit her again that she didn't have her wand, and not thinking clearly she said. "Wand."

"Want?" Matt asked, hearing it wrong. "What do you want?" Hermione just groaned in response as the medical person had touched one of the bits of wood and set off a pain.

After that, Hermione didn't remember much more, just vague blurry images. At times she thought people were talking to her, or at her or around her, but she didn't know if it was glimpses of dreams or really happening. She didn't remember the ambulance stopping or being lifted out of the vehicle. Minutes could have passed, or hours or even days.

However, when Hermione finally opened her eyes properly, not seeming to be able to before, she found herself in a bed, in a large room with a curved, fairly low ceiling. The sheets on the bed were immaculately white and turned back neat and tidy. She felt a tugging sensation on the back of her hand and saw that she had a canular needle and was hooked up to a bag of clear solution. _Saline drip?_ she thought, not knowing for sure about the medical items available in 1943. She wasn't sure if she had had a blood tranfusion or whether she was just able to have fluids. Looking around the room she found her vision blocked by a large screen to her right and a wall to her left. At the foot of her bed she could see another bed, but it was empty.

Feeling alone, unsure of her surroundings and very disorientated, Hermione decided to see if anyone else was in the room. "Hello?" she said, although it wasn't very loud and was a little croaky. "Hello?" she called again, her voice stronger.

Hermione heard footsteps and felt herself tense up, wondering what challenges would face her next and above all, what person would face her next.

"Miss Summers?" a man asked with an American accent. A man, wearing a green uniform, a white armband with a red cross on it, and also wearing a white apron, appeared around the screen. "You're awake?"

_Apparently!_ thought Hermione sarcastically and a little bothered by everything. "Where am I?" she asked.

"You're at the Hospital Wing on an United States base."

"How long have I been here?"

"A couple of days," he answered kindly. "You're doing very well."

Hermione looked down at herself and saw she was wearing a blue gown beneath which she could see a hint of white bandages. A bit of panic entered her mind when she thought about the Ring and her beaded bag. The first item was the reason she was in this predicament, so it would be devastating to have lost it already; the second item held her and Ginny's way home.

"Where are my clothes?" she asked.

"We had to cut your jacket and shirt off you," he told her.

"Where are my things? My possessions?" she asked almost frantic.

"Hey, stay calm," the medic tried to sooth her. "We checked all your pockets and have everything kept safe for you."

Hermione sighed with relief on hearing that and just hoped they wouldn't see past the enchantment on her beaded bag. Hopefully it would look just like a small empty bag to non-magical eyes. "When can I leave?" she asked.

"Leave? No way, Miss, you need several more days here yet, maybe longer, according to our Medical Officer. You had very serious, life-threatening injuries."

"I can't stay here," she said. "I have to go."

"Out of the question," said the man. "Besides the Colonel won't let you either. What he says on this base goes. He'll want to talk to you so we can contact your CO and your family."

_Shit,_ thought Hermione, _double stinking shit! _"Matt and Joe?" she asked. "The men who found me, where are they?"

"They've been in to see you, when they were allowed, but they're not here now. I'm sure they'll come and see you once they know you're awake again." said the medic. "They'll probably come along with the Colonel too as they're so involved with the whole case."

_Questions, _she thought, _ they'll start asking questions I have no answers to. If they check my WAAF details they might find out that they're fake! Will they then think I'm a spy or something sinister? I can't tell them anything near the truth because firstly they wouldn't believe it and secondly it would risk messing with time. How in Merlin's name am I going to get out of this? Please find me ,Ginny. I need you more than ever! You can do it, you'll find a way...please find a way. Find me!_

**A/N: I know we _know_ roughly what happened to Hermione and it doesn't really add anything new, but I wanted to see things through her eyes, from her side of the story. And with the next couple of chapters in mind, I'm glad I decided to write her side of things as it opened up some easier choices for me. ;)**


	30. Looking For Her

**A/N: Another chapter I had fun with. ;) I have fun with them all, in truth. :) **

30: Looking For Her

Hermione didn't have any real sense of time, and feeling tired from whatever injuries she had sustained and knowing she had had surgery of some kind, she found herself sleeping a lot that day; but having a dreamless, heavy sleep.

She had a visit from the Medical Officer, which was essentially a doctor in uniform, but he was very pleasant and explained that they thought they had managed to remove all of the wood fragments and were very hopeful no infection would appear. Feeling a little groggy at the time, Hermione only vaguely acknowledged the information.

Apart from the Medical Officer, a male medic and a couple of colleagues of his, coming around to change her drip bag which they then removed later that day, due to her being awake enough to drink fluids, she didn't see anyone else, although she was aware of noise from outside and of the liveliness of a working army base.

Self-consciously Hermione had wondered about her bodily functions, and realized, embarrassed that she had had a catheter, which they had removed later that day and thankfully now she could be taken to a bathroom at the end of the ward. It was at that point she discovered she had her period. _Absolutely bloody fantastic! _she thought, _as if things couldn't get any worse? _The medics actually seemed to be mildly embarrassed about it, being more used to male personnel with various manly physical type injuries, not a woman with a menstrual cycle.

Hermione had plenty of sanitary products, but they were all in her beaded bag, so she had to make do with some strange dressing pads the medics gave her which looked more suited to the battlefield or possibly stuffing teddy bears.

One of the medical nurses not as embarrassed as the others had said he'd spoken to the Medial Officer about it and told her not to worry and that it was quite normal for women to get their period after surgery or trauma. Hermione just hoped she would have her normal fairly short duration. _I suppose I shouldn't be surprised, I'm probably due anyway,_ she thought, forgetting when the last time was. _Oh well, it can't be any worse than having to deal with it, while cooped up in a tent with Harry and Ron!_

As she was wheeled to the toilet in the afternoon and finally felt more awake, she had looked at her surroundings. Hermione understood why the ceiling was curved; she realized she was in a temporary wartime building which she knew were called nissen huts. From the outside it would look a bit like a food can cut in half and placed on the ground, making the whole building semi-circular in shape. _So I'm staying in an old baked bean can!_ she thought, amused.

Later in the afternoon one of the medics came to do his regular checks on her and brought a couple of magazines. "I thought you might like something to read," he said, placing the magazines down onto the small bedside cabinet, next to her.

"Thanks," she said, feeling very grateful to have something to pass the time with.

Hermione found it hard to concentrate on the articles she read in the magazines, not because they were American and she had trouble relating to the stories, but because her mind was fretting and working overtime on how she could get away from the base. She was thinking of what to do about finding Ginny or making it easier for her friend to find _her_. Not being able to use magic here was a big stumbling block and she doubted that her wand would be amongst the possessions that were being kept safe for her anyway.

_What do I do?_ she thought. _What _can _I do?_ It made her feel depressed and her worry went deep to the bone.

In the early evening she heard some voices, and assumed that someone else was being brought into the ward room. Hermione couldn't see, because they kept the screen up to her right. She supposed the screen was to protect her privacy, being a woman on a virtually all-male army base. The brunette tried to hear what the people were saying and upon hearing some of what was said she experienced two feelings.

"She's awake?" said one man. "She's a fighter all right."

"You can have a couple of minutes with her, not too long. We don't want her getting exhausted."

"It will be nice to just see her awake and looking better," said the voice, which Hermione recoginzed as Matt Riccardi.

The two feelings which descended on Hermione, as she realized who her visitor would be, were firstly, a lifting feeling of seeing someone she was familiar with and someone who didn't want to poke her with a needle, take her temperature or wheel her to the loo. The other feeling was a sinking sensation, of dread. There would be questions, even from Matt, she didn't doubt. This left her with a confused tired feeling and she hadn't even spoken to the man yet. Hermione heard footsteps down the ward room, then one of the medics appeared at the foot of her bed.

"Miss Summers, there's someone here who would like to see you, do you feel up to a visitor?" Hermione nodded her assent, and the medic beckoned for her visitor to come to the bed. "Five minutes," the medic said, holding his hand up, showing his five digits, before he walked away again.

The dark-haired and dark-eyed features of Sergeant Matt Riccardi peered around the screen, smiled and walked up to the bed.

"Hey there, Helen," he said, smiling. "How ya feeling?"

"Not bad, considering," Hermione said, then realized she hadn't had a chance to say the next bit. "Thank you," she said in a soft voice. "Thank you for saving my life."

"No problem," he said, then pointing to a chair next to the bed, "May I?" When Hermione nodded, he turned the chair and sat on it to face her. "The thing is, how did you get into that state in the first place? Who did that to you?"

"I...I can't tell you. I'm sorry, but I can't," she said, actually feeling genuinely sorry that she couldn't divulge more to the person who had saved her and who had not taken her to a regular hospital when she had said she didn't want that.

"We thought you said your friend Joan had something to do with it?" he said, still wondering if there was more to that tale. He knew something was being hidden from him about what Helen and Joan were doing, he just didn't know what it was.

"Gin...Joan? You thought _she_ did this to me?" Hermione asked, her voice getting higher with surprise, thankful that Matt had heard the name 'Gin' used before and she wouldn't have to cover up the slip. "Absolutely not! It wasn't her, she would never do something like this! Good grief! What gave you that idea?"

"Well, when we found you and asked you what had happened, you said 'My friend'," Matt told her, waiting for an outburst as fiery as the one Ginny had given him.

"I didn't mean she was responsible! I don't remember much, but I expect I wanted her to be there or something, to find her," said Hermione. "She didn't hurt me, she didn't lay a finger on me!"

"That's what _she_ said," Matt replied in an apologetic voice.

If Hermione had been a dog, her ears would have pricked up as high as they would go. "You've...you've _seen_ her?" she said, her throat feeling tight with tension and building emotion.

"Yeah, today," he said.

"WHERE?" Hermione asked. "TELL ME!" she almost shouted.

"Jesus woman! Do you want me thrown out of here?" he said, taken aback by the desperation in Hermione's voice and worried that the medics would make him leave. "She was in Great Hangleton, staying at The White Hart."

"And?"

"Joe and I talked with her," said Matt, not really wanting to tell her all that had occurred, because it made himself and his friend look like idiots, which they had been.

"What did she say? Does she know where I am?" Hermione could feel her whole body come alive with hope and relief. _Ginny is here?_ she thought not quite beilieving it, _Ginny is here! I knew she'd find me somehow!_

"We...talked with her," Matt repeated. "It...was...a little tough to begin with."

"What did you say to her?" Hermione asked, pinning Matt with one of her fiercest stares.

"I...we...err...asked her what she knew about your whereabouts, and why she was back at the Hart," he said cautiously. "She'd been looking for you, and we asked her a few things, just to make sure of...stuff."

"_Stuff_?" Hermione said, narrowing her eyes. "You accused her of hurting me didn't you?"

"What are you, a mind reader?" Matt said surprised.

"You did, didn't you?"

"All right, all right! So we might have insinuated that she had something to do with your injuries."

"I can't imagine she was too happy about that?" Hermione said, with a little smirk, imaging a very pissed off Ginny, with her arms folded in front of her, red in the cheeks and scowling.

"No, she didn't like it," said Matt, very humbly. "Anyway," he said, trying to quickly brush over the mistake. "We're getting her clearance to come to the base to see you."

"When? Can she get here tonight?" Hermione asked.

"Sorry, the army doesn't work _that_ fast," he laughed softly. "We're hoping for tomorrow."

Hermione felt as though tomorrow wouldn't come fast enough. _Ginny is here!_ she thought again, believing it a little more now.

Footsteps could be heard in the room again, so Matt stood up. "Looks like my visiting time is over," he said as he put the chair back to where it had been. "I'll come see you tomorrow, hopefully with Joan in tow."

"Thank you Matt," said Hermione, almost timidly. "Thank you for everything."

Matt smiled at her. "You keep yourself out of trouble, honey, and keep getting better."

The medic appeared at the end of Hermione's bed again. "I'm going, I'm going," said Matt to the man, holding his hands up in surrender, grinning broadly.

"Bye Matt," said Hermione. With another winning smile at her, the sergeant was gone. _He called me 'honey' again!_ she thought, wanting to laugh. _I don't care what he calls me as long as he brings Ginny to me. _

Hermione felt uplifted beyond words. She knew there were still a lot of awkward situations to come, but with Ginny back at her side she knew they would work out a way to make everything work. Dumbledore had been right in his letter at Godric's Hollow, _two heads _are_ better than one._

As distracted and excited as Hermione felt, regarding the news on Ginny, she still felt very tired. The ward medics dimmed the lights at nine o'clock that evening, after doing their regular checks on her again. She couldn't really see the wounds under her bandages, but really wished she could get her hands on some dittany and heal herself faster and leave virtually no scarring. That was another reason she wanted to get away from the base. However, as she settled down again, sleep soon came to her.

Hermione didn't remember having any dreams while she was semi-conscious in the Hospital Wing, and the flashes of scenes and voices were hard to distinguish between dreams or whether she had been awake and saw blurry real images. It meant she had no nightmares, and that was a plus point.

Tonight however, she entered a dream, and as she became aware that she was going to have a dream she felt as though she didn't care what it showed her. Hermione had very real things to deal with, but with Ginny back into the fold, she felt she could face anything her dream chose to show her..._zzzzzzz_

In the dream she found herself walking towards Hagrid's hut at Hogwarts. Something in the back of her mind told her she was looking for Ginny. _Well, that's obvious why that's on my mind_, she thought. Knocking on Hagrid's door the big gamekeeper opened it.

"'Ello there Hermione," said Hagrid, with a welcoming smile. "Are ya lookin' for Harry?"

"No, Ginny actually," she replied. _See? I knew I was looking for her,_ thought an unsurprised Hermione as she dreamed it.

"She's not here, I think she's in the greenhouses."

"Greenhouses?" Hermione said, wondering why her friend would be there. _Perhaps she's finishing some herbology homework,_ she thought. "Okay, thanks Hagrid."

Walking away from Hagrid's she made her way to the greenhouses, passing through areas of the castle that she knew were in the wrong place, but even so she seemed to know where she was going.

Arriving at the greenhouses, Hermione found no one in the first greenhouse, but moving to the second she found Neville repotting some strange looking plants she had never seen before in her life.

"Hi Hermione!" said Neville. "Are you looking for Ron?"

"No, I thought Ginny was here?"

"I haven't seen her," said Neville, as he was trying to squeeze some unruly roots into a pot. "I thought I heard her say earlier that she had to hand in some homework to Flitwick."

"Oh, okay," said Hermione, as she turned and left the greenhouses.

Once more Hermione was walking through an unfamiliar layout of the castle; she was used to the changing staircases but she didn't think that applied to courtyards and rooms too.

Walking down the corridor which she _did_ recognize as where Professor Flitwick's classroom was, she saw Luna leaving the Charms classroom.

"Hello Hermione," said Luna. "You're looking...different today."

"Different?" asked Hermione. "How?"

"I don't know," said the blonde girl in her usual dreamy way. "Your inner and outer auras are acting most oddly. You ought to be careful with that."

"Right, I will," said Hermione. Having spent a lot of time around Luna she learned to never question the girl's theories, because the answers made everything even more bewildering. "Luna, have you seen Ginny around here?"

"Ginny? I haven't seen her today at all," said Luna. "Perhaps she went to the library?"

As the library wasn't far away, Hermione decided to look for Ginny there, before moving on. When she walked in, there were only a few students at tables, one held Seamus.

"Hermione," Seamus said in a quiet voice, to get her attention. "Ginny was looking for you."

"She _was_?" Hermione replied.

"Yeah, I think she had to hand in some homework to McGonagall, but she was looking for you."

"Thanks, Seamus," said Hermione as she walked out of the library again. _Ginny's looking for me?_ she thought. _I could have crossed her path several times already._

Strangely she found a door opposite the library and went through it and she was immediately walking into the Transfiguration Courtyard. The brunette made her way across to McGonagall's classroom, but peeping in she could see the place was empty. _This is getting stupid,_ she thought, _and it's tiring even to just dream of all this walking about!_

"Miss Granger, were you looking for me?" said a familiar voice behind her.

"Sorry Professor," she said, turning to face McGonagall. "I was looking for Ginny."

"It's Gryffindor quidditch practice this afternoon, I expect you'll find her there," said her Head of House.

"Thanks, Professor."

Walking down several corridors and through several doors which she knew were not there in real life, she was out in the grounds and on her way to the quidditch pitch. As she approached the pitch and thought about going into the stands, to wait for the end of practice, she was aware that she couldn't hear any noises. She would have expected some shouts or whoops, from their practice play and training.

The door to the changing rooms opened and Harry and Ron walked out. Hermione's heart lurched a little as she saw Ron, but then she felt really annoyed by the sight of him. Ron smiled at her, but she must have frowned back because he began to look sheepish as if he had done something wrong and she had just found out about it.

Ignoring the confusing feelings and awkwardness over Ron, she looked to Harry...a perfectly healthy-looking Harry. _At least he's not dead-looking in my own dreams_, she thought.

"Harry," she began. "Have you seen Ginny?"

"Hi Hermione. Yeah, she's in the changing room."

"Thanks," said Hermione, as she headed towards the door her two friends had left by.

"What? Not even a 'hello' for me?" she heard Ron mutter as he walked away with Harry.

"What do you expect, after what _you_ did?" she heard Harry answer, before both of their voices faded out of range of her hearing. Hermione shook her head and tried not to think on it too much.

Just before Hermione reached the changing room door, the rest of the quidditch team walked out. "Is Ginny still in there?" she asked Katie Bell.

"Yeah, should be," said Katie.

Hermione went through the main door and to the girls side of the changing rooms. "Ginny? Are you in here?" she called.

"Is that you, Hermione?" Ginny called back, her voice echoing and distant.

"Yes. It's me."

"I'll be there in a tick," said the redhead.

_What's she doing?_ thought Hermione as she dreamed it. Then she heard water. _Oh a shower. I didn't know they had showers in here? I thought everyone went back to dormitories for that. Certainly not showers being so close to the boys in the changing room...goodness, that's playing with fire!_

A couple of minutes seemed to pass as Hermione looked around and read some of the posters and plaques on the changing room walls. One poster was for powder for Athlete's Foot. _That's a muggle treatment, _she thought, _I know it's a dream, but that's still odd._

Ginny appeared with a towel wrapped around her and her hair still a little wet, as she sat on a bench seat.

"Right, I'm here," said Ginny.

"I was told you were looking for me?" asked Hermione.

"I _was_?" the redhead replied uncertainly. "Oh yes, I was! But that was this morning. It doesn't matter now, it was just a homework thing which I worked out for myself in the end anyway."

"That's okay then."

"So, you were looking for me too?"

"Yes I was," said Hermione.

"What did you want to talk to me about?"

"I...I...," Hermione went quiet. She suddenly thought that she didn't have a clue why she was looking for Ginny. "I...I can't remember," she said feeling very silly.

"That's not like you, Hermione," said Ginny, as she charmed her hair dry with her wand.

"I'm not allowed to forget something?" asked Hermione, rattled.

"I didn't mean that. I'm just used to you knowing where you're going and being decisive over what you want, where and when."

"I'm having an odd day," said Hermione, still struggling to work out why she had been searching for Ginny. "Call it an off day."

"Are you feeling okay?"

"Yes," answered Hermione, then added, "I...don't know actually. I'm really tired."

"I would be too after what happened to you," said Ginny.

"What happened to me?"

Ginny looked at her puzzled. "Getting stabbed by the Whomping Willow."

"Is that what happened?" The real Hermione wanted to scream at her dream-self for sounding so retarded. _I suppose in dreams that's close enough to what really happened to me,_ she thought.

"Hermione, perhaps...you should go to Madam Pomfrey? You're not sounding like your usual self," said Ginny, wearing a worried frown as she pulled on her skirt.

"I don't know what I sound like? I'm me, who else would I be?" said Hermione, irritated by the way she felt so slow and awkward. "I think I'll just go."

"To the Hospital Wing?" asked Ginny.

"No. I don't know where I'm going, but I'm going." She stood up and as she turned her vision went blurred and she fainted, feeling herself thudding against something. _How can I faint in a dream?_ she thought, _unless I'm so weak in real life and this daft dream is tiring me out, even as I sleep?_

Hermione's dream-self opened her eyes and saw that she was sitting on the bench, leaning up against Ginny, who was holding her, afraid she would slide onto the floor.

"Hey there," said Ginny softly. "You kind of fainted on me."

"Urgh! Sorry," said Hermione, trying to move back, but Ginny held her firmly.

"Give yourself a few minutes," said Ginny. "You haven't got to rush off and catch a train."

"True, but you're going to freeze if you don't finish dressing," said Hermione, aware that Ginny still had a towel around her top half, and that she was leaning her head against a bare shoulder.

"That doesn't matter now, besides, I've been wondering for weeks how to get my arms around you," said Ginny.

"Huh?" said Hermione, pulling her head back. _What did she just say?_ she thought as she dreamed, _Nah, she didn't say that, and didn't mean it in the way I thought I heard it._

"Oh yes, Hermione," Ginny said, whispering into her ear. "I've wanted my hands on you for a long time."

The whispering vibrated against Hermione's ear and sent little tingling sensations throughout her body; this disturbed her and left her befuddled.

"Ginny! You're really funny," said Hermione, rolling her eyes. _She's messing around,_ she thought, _trying to make me laugh and feel better._

"Funny?" said Ginny in surprise. "You think I'm joking?" And with that she put a hand to Hermione's cheek and moved in and kissed her. Soft questing lips, nibbling at Hermione's.

Hermione pulled back in shock. "Ginny?" she said feeling numb and dumb. _WHAT? _she thought as she dreamed.

"Let yourself feel," said Ginny as she claimed Hermione's lips again, with a little more urgency, and the faintest introduction of tongue.

_Merlin's balls!_ Hermione thought as she dreamed, _what is she doing? What am _I _doing?_ The dream-Hermione hadn't pulled back and was responding to the kiss, wrapping an arm around Ginny's neck. _This is so wrong! Stop it, you fool!_

The dream-Hermione did stop the kiss, pulling back feeling breathless, shocked and a little turned on.

"Now you know," said Ginny.

"But...but...but what about Harry?" Hermione spluttered, feeling so far out of her field of expertise she was flustered.

"He's dead to me now," said Ginny with a sad smile. "It's you I want."

"Whaaa...Ho...shit!" was all Hermione could respond with.

"You like me, don't you?" asked Ginny.

"Yes, you're one of my best friends."

"I mean more than that? Do you find me attractive?"

"I've never thought on it that much," said a nervous Hermione.

Ginny took off her towel to reveal her bare torso, breasts free for Hermione to gaze upon. "Well?" Hermione blushed a deep scarlet and averted her eyes. "Am I repulsive? Is that why you won't look at me?" asked a sad Ginny.

"What?" Hermione said, compelled to look back at her. "You're a beautiful young woman. It's just...I...,"

Ginny took one of Hermione's hands and placed it on her shoulder and gradually dragged the hand down her chest until she had guided her friend's hand to her breast. "Do I feel good to you?" she asked.

_What are you doing?_ Hermione was trying to scream at her dream-self. _Stop it! It's wrong...It's bloody hot! No No NO...it's wrong!_ she corrected herself.

Then Ginny kissed her again and under Hermione's hand she felt Ginny's nipple harden against her palm..._CRAP!...zzzzzzz_

Hermione woke up, to find her pulse racing, her breathing fast and her face feeling hot. _I've never dreamed something like that with a woman before,_ she thought, embarrassed. _Maybe it's because she's been on my mind and I said I badly wanted to see her, and my stupid brain decided I meant I 'wanted' her in a whole different kind of way? There's also no telling what kind of drugs they've been sticking into me here...that might have addled my mind. _Her conscience came out to play then:

_**You have to admit that was the sexiest embrace you've ever had, in real life or in dreams? **__Maybe, but it doesn't mean anything. _

_**Doesn't it? You yourself know how dreams push forward ideas and feelings we have hidden. **__I wasn't aware I was hiding the fact I want to kiss and fondle Ginny? _

_**No? You didn't object to cuddling her in bed recently? **__She was upset from her dreams, she needed someone to be there for her. _

_**Uh huh? **__I didn't kiss her or feel her up...I had the opportunity to do so, but I didn't! _

_**No, but had she touched you, would you have stopped her? **__Of course I would. _

_**How about now? **__I'm unlikely to find myself in that situation to begin with. _

_**Really? You'll be sharing a bed again in the near future I don't doubt. **__I still won't be getting a feel-up in when she's asleep. She wouldn't be interested even if I did want to experiment, or whatever the term is. _

_**How do you know she's not interested? **__Duh, Harry? _

_**He's dead, and was always calling off their relationship anyway, she's had doubts over him long before he died. **__It doesn't mean she'd turn her attention to me! _

_**If she did, would you refuse? **__It's wrong, I'm supposed to be going out with her brother! _

_**Ah Ron, of whom you've had doubts for a long while and get so tired of arguing with all the time. Again, ask yourself if Ginny showed any interest, would you refuse? **__... yes I'd refuse...although...I...I don't know. _

_**I think you do. You know how much you trust her and feel you can rely on her. She must have gone through torment, being alone and not knowing what happened to you, yet here she is and is determined to find you. That loyalty and courage is more than a lot of spouses would show their partners. **__Spouse? We're not married! _

_**Would you like to be? **__How the hell should I know? It's all nonsense. _

_**If she kissed you, would you back away. **__Yes, it would feel wrong. _

_**Ahhh, it wouldn't 'feel' wrong, you know that now, it would just be your prim and proper self thinking you **_**had **_**to think it was wrong. **__Maybe. _

_**So, would you back away if she kissed you?**__...I...I...no...I don't think I would. _

_**Ah ha! **_

Hermione felt very confused by her dream and even more so by her thoughts about it all. She finally came to the conclusion that she shouldn't be thinking about it, because she was still in a very awkward position, being on an army base. _I must not get ahead of myself and I've got to try to think clearly,_ she thought, _take one problem at a time._

She was looking forward to seeing Ginny again, and hoped she would be able to act as normal as possible with her and try to forget the overtly sensuous dream she had just experienced. Settling again, she went back to sleep, which thankfully held no more sexy dreams about her red-haired friend; the few glimpses of dreams were the average kind about animals doing funny things and the stresses of being late for an exam.


	31. The Owlery and the Base

**A/N: I have a few busy days ahead so I'm posting two chapters in this update. **

**I hope you don't get too bored with dream sequences, but as my story has shown before...some of the dreams are a bit more than just dreams. ;) **

**Two threads become one again. :)**

31: The Owlery and the Base

Ginny entered a dream that night, and although she had initially felt like she didn't care what she saw in it, there was a little apprehension as she discovered herself in the dream..._zzzzzzz_

She was at Hogwarts, but there was no battle, no destruction and it looked normal. _Never assume it's normal,_ she thought to herself as she was dreaming, _I should have learned that by now, with _my_ dreams._

"So anyway, I said to Michael that if he didn't want to go to Hogsmeade with me, all he had to do was say 'no' instead of avoiding me, stupid little prat!"

"Hmm?"

"Were you even listening, Ginny?"

The redhead found she was sitting at a table in the Griffindor Common Room with Parvati Patil, and for some reason her friend was complaining about a Michael.

"Michael who?" asked Ginny.

"Corner!" Parvati rolled her eyes in frustration. "Nevermind, it's always hopeless talking to you the morning of a quidditch match!"

"There's a quidditch match? Today?" asked Ginny, feeling slightly panicked that she didn't seem to know about it.

"Yeah, against Hufflepuff," Parvati studied her. "Have you been dropped from the team or something?"

"No!" said Ginny. "At least I don't think so. Where's Harry?"

"I don't know, wherever Hermione and Ron are I suppose. Those three are always joined at the hip."

"I think I better try and find him," said Ginny, getting up.

"Are you sleeping well?" asked Parvati.

"Yeah, I think so," replied Ginny, her mind feeling like it was drifting off again.

"You're just acting a bit...strange, like you haven't slept."

"No I'm fine," said Ginny. "I'll see you around." And she walked out of the Gryffindor Common Room, through the portrait hole and was faced with the staircases.

_Where am I going to find Hermione?_ she thought. _Hermione?_ _I thought I was looking for Harry? Nevermind, either of them will do. Let's try the library first,_ she willed her thoughts into her dream-self.

After a long twisting and inaccurate walk, Ginny walked into the library and found it empty. She walked to the end of the Restricted Section, cautiously, because she remembered what had happened there last time with Hermione. _Hmm, I don't want to be hanging around here for too long_, she thought, _strange memories of here and I'm not sure I'm ready to have that happen again._

Next she thought she would try the Great Hall. Another long and complicated walk brought her to the beating heart of Hogwarts and as soon as she entered the Hall she was scanning the Gryffindor table with her eyes. No Harry, no Hermione, but her brother Ron _was_ there.

"Hi Ron," she said, walking up to him. "Where's Hermione and Harry?"

"Harry's gone to see Hagrid and Hermione's...behind you," he said.

"No she's not," said Ginny, not wanting to play games.

"Yes I am."

Ginny spun around. "How long have you been there?"

"Just this moment. I was looking for _you_, actually," said Hermione.

"Oh, well, I'm here now."

"Will you come for a walk with me?"

"Why?"

"I want to talk to you about something," said Hermione, with an almost odd expression.

Ron was studying them both. "Why are you two acting so weird?"

"Weird? I wasn't aware I was acting weird, were you Hermione?" asked Ginny.

"No. Really Ron, sometimes I wonder just where your mind wanders off to, with these theories you have?" said Hermione with a soft laugh.

Ron turned a little red in the cheeks. "Fine! I'll keep my mouth shut in future, then!" He picked up his bag and stormed out of the Great Hall.

"What's up with him?" asked Ginny. "Have you two been arguing again?"

"Sort of. I don't know," said Hermione. "I think he thought we were going out with each other...even though neither of us has asked the other out. Anyway he thinks I've broken up with him."

"How can you break up when you never got together?"

"That's exactly what I'd like to know," said Hermione with an air of frustration. "Your brother is such high maintenance!"

Ginny laughed. "I thought that's what men usually say about their girlfriends and wives?"

"Well, he's Ron, isn't he?" Hermione sighed. "Anyway, come walk with me to the Owlery."

"Are you sending a parcel somewhere?"

"No, but the view is nice and very few people are ever around."

Some parts of Hogwarts didn't even look like Hogwarts as Ginny walked with Hermione through courtyards, across walkways and into the grounds, gradually walking up a hill to the Owlery.

They entered the building and Hermione walked up some stairs with Ginny following. They went up to a third level Ginny had never been to before, which had a door leading into a small room. After Ginny walked through the door, Hermione shut the door and locked it.

"I've never been here before," said Ginny, as she looked at the view from the open glassless window in the small room, which held only a simple bench.

"I sometimes come here to just think," said Hermione in a soft voice. "The view and fresh air are breathtaking. But that's why I locked the door, I don't want anyone else to find my little space."

"Is there something wrong, Hermione?" asked Ginny. "Is there something you want to talk about?"

"I'm not in love with Ron and don't want to be with him," Hermione said suddenly.

"Okay," said Ginny. "You know that doesn't bother me, whether you're with him or not?" Hermione nodded. "So, have you had enough of waiting for him to ask you out properly? Or you just don't like what you see?"

"I can't be with him," said Hermione sadly. "I mean, I want to be his friend still, but I can't be more."

"Have you told him?"

"Well as you saw in the Hall, he's got the idea that I'm not as interested in him. I feel so bad about it."

"Well, if you don't want more with him, then you can't help the way you feel, can you?" said Ginny.

"That's a lot of my problem," said Hermione. "The way I feel. I have feelings for someone else."

"I see," said Ginny.

"It's you," said Hermione, standing and looking out of the window, not daring to turn around and face her friend.

_Oh shit,_ thought the dreaming Ginny, _here we go again. Why can't I dream about cats and dogs? Or getting detention! I really don't need another of these dreams so soon...just walk away...climb out of the window if you have to...just get out of there!_

"Are you shocked?" asked a shy Hermione. "Disgusted?"

The dream-Ginny didn't answer and stunned her real self, by walking up behind Hermione, wrapping her arms around the girl's waist and holding her. _What are you doing? Stop it right now!_ Hermione turned in her arms and with a fearful, nervous expression which made Ginny melt, closed the distance between them and kissed her. A sweet, gentle kiss. _Oh for Merlin's sake!_ thought Ginny, _just stop it!_

Breaking apart slowly, Hermione looked into Ginny's eyes and said, "I've found the one I want and she's standing in front of me."

"I've been looking for something myself," said Ginny. "But I've found you now."..._zzzzzzz_

Ginny woke up with the usual jolt of being stunned and flabbergasted by her dreams. _I know what some of it is about,_ she thought, _finding Hermione. It just seems my mind has a fixation on doing other things with Hermione. 'I've found you now'? And since when did I get so sappy? Oh crap, I hope I don't start looking at her oddly because of these dreams. _Her conscience was very happy to join in with her thought processes:

_**So you're saying you ARE thinking of Hermione differently? **__Not exactly...I think everything I've been through is mostly responsible and I'm just subconsiously moving my affections from Harry to the closest person I have, and that happens to be Hermione. _

_**So you're saying you would think sexy thoughts and have sexy dreams about **_**anyone **_**you were in a stressful situation with, just because they're there with you? **__Essentially. _

_**So why haven't you ever dreamed of kissing and holding Luna? **__Luna? I have no idea. _

_**Is it maybe because you have REAL feelings for Hermione? **__I don't know. _

_**Really? **__I DON'T KNOW! _

_**You shouldn't fight it. **__Fight what? _

_**Your feelings for Hermione. **__This is not the time and certainly not the place...I've been over this before. _

_**What better place...away from everyone else? **__Now that's sounding seedy. _

_**You're the one thinking it! **__Look, I just need to talk to her tomorrow and go from there. _

_**What? Asking her if she likes you that way? **__NO! That is the last thing on my mind. _

_**Your dreams would say otherwise. **__NO! I need to know what happened to her and what we do next. _

_**Well, never rule out the unexpected at an unexpected time. **__Just shut up, all I'm doing is making myself more perplexed!_

The room was lighter, and Ginny realized that the new day had already started. She groaned as she flung off the the bedcovers and swung her legs out of bed. Going over to one of the thick curtains, she pulled it aside a little and saw one or two of the villagers getting out and about in the main street.

Yawning, she sorted out her clothes for the day, had a bite of an apple, before going over to the bathroom to freshen up, taking her time to use up the hours, making it less time for her to pace around. When she got back to her room it was approaching 9.30am. Ginny had then finished putting on her uniform jacket when there was a knock on her door.

"Miss Townsend?" called Lottie.

"Yes, you can come in," said Ginny, as she fiddled with a button on her jacket.

The door opened and Lottie walked in, smiling. "We've just had a telephone call from the American base."

Ginny was almost hanging on every word the landlady was going to say next. "What was the message?" she asked, knowing there must be one, if Lottie was here telling her about the phone call.

"They said there will be an army car to collect you at 12.30pm. And to have your identity cards and papers with you."

Ginny tried not to smile too much, but inside she would have liked to have jumped around with happiness. "That's good news," said Ginny. "I'll make sure I'm ready."

"It can't be all that bad, if you're smiling?" said Lottie, trying hard not to ask Ginny outright what was going on.

"No, it's not bad...shouldn't be anyway," said Ginny. "I'm sorry I can't tell you more about it." _I know she's trying to pry_, thought Ginny, _but I can't say a thing about this particular subject. _"Thanks for letting me know about the message," she added, hoping the landlady would leave.

"Are you staying another night here, or will you be on your way now?"

It was the first time Ginny had thought about how long she was staying. "I'm not sure," she said, and truly didn't know. _Am I able to stay at the base?_ she thought, _or will I be taking Hermione with me back to Godric's Hollow? _"I think I'll take all my things with me," she told Lottie. "But there's a chance I'll be back again, is that all right? I wouldn't be making things difficult for you with the room?"

"No, not at all," said Lottie.

"I can get the base, or Matt or Joe to telephone you and tell you if I'm coming back," suggested Ginny.

"It's no problem, it was just me wondering," the landlady said.

The morning seemed to drag on despite trying to do everything slowly. Ginny even went for a walk around the village again; it wasn't the most interesting place, but not having to be looking for something or hiding something made the walk much more enjoyable than her usual walks recently.

For a time before lunch she went to her room and read some more of the book she had brought from Dumbledore's study. Another place she decided she would have to visit one day was the seaside town of Dunwich on the Suffolk coast, with it's ghostly tales. Supposedly several churches had fallen into the sea over the centuries and on certain days you could hear the ghostly bells ringing out at sea from the churches that had been taken by it. _Probably utter nonsense for the tourists, _she thought, _but it would still be worth a look._

After an early lunch, which Lottie insisted she have, as she would be missing out otherwise, Ginny went to her room once more and made sure she had everything packed; most of her things were in the small enchanted bag Dumbledore had given her and a couple of items were in her gas mask bag. She double-checked her papers in her jacket pocket before leaving the room and going back downstairs to wait. Ginny was feeling nervous; excited nerves as well as dread and fear for things that she might have to face. As of yet she didn't know how badly hurt Hermione was.

At 12.25pm, five minutes early, a car pulled up in front of The White Hart, which Ginny saw from inside. It was a large car, and painted almost completely in an olive green, with just a white star on the bonnet at the front, the two front doors and on the boot at the back.

Matt or Joe didn't come into the pub, but a large soldier, wearing a white helmet came in. He wore an armbard with MP on it and had several chevrons with a curved line underneath on badges on his arms. Ginny wasn't sure what that meant and didn't know it was a member of the Military Police holding the rank of Staff Sergeant.

"US Army car for a Miss Joan Townsend, Aircraftswoman Class 1?" the man called.

Ginny stood up and walked over to the door. "That's me," she said, trying to swallow her increased nerves, although as she was the only woman in uniform in the vicinity, it was obvious she was the one they sought.

"This way," he said, indicating she should follow him.

The MP opened a back door for her and Ginny got into the very spacious and comfortable car. The driver was a red-haired soldier; he had one inverted chevron on his sleeves, although Ginny didn't know what that signified exactly.

"Before we drive off, can I see your papers, please?" the MP asked her.

Taking them out of her pocket, she handed them over to the man, who had taken off his white helmet before getting into the car, showing he would have been dark-haired had he not had most of his hair shaven off, leaving just the shortest of hair on the top of his head.

"That all seems to be in order," the man said before handing the papers back to her. "Drive on," he said to the driver.

Ginny felt very self-conscious and was unsure what to do. She had thought Matt or Joe would have been there and that would have made it easier for her. As it was, she was unsure whether to stay quiet in the ever-increasing awkward atmosphere or start some small talk. _I don't do small talk,_ she thought, _I've never seen the point of talking for talking's sake. _

"Have you been in England long?" she asked, thinking it sounded incredibly dull, aside from the fact she wasn't actually interested in the answer.

"A couple months," said the MP.

"Same for me," said the driver.

It was the same monotonous-style of questions and answers for most of the drive. Ginny thought they had covered every aspect of mundane boring subjects on the planet. The weather, the countryside, the people, the weather again, and whether they missed home. The red-haired young woman hoped desperately that the army base wasn't much further.

Luckily the drive couldn't have been more than a few miles, and as they pased through the gates of the base, Ginny could appreciate that the base was in the middle of nowhere. Apart from one farmhouse just visible a way off, there was no other sign of habitation close to the complex.

As the car passed through the gates, Ginny felt her stomach twitch, and she had a feeling come over her of entering the next lion's den. It was the same nervy feeling she had experienced before each new destination with Hermione.

The car stopped outside a small building and the MP got out. "Wait in the car," he said to her.

She nodded to him, while thinking, _I'm hardly going to get out and walk around by myself am I?_

Only a couple of minutes passed before the MP walked out of the building again and got back into the car and told the driver to carry on. The car moved through the base, which was a sprawl of many different shaped buildings and there was a huge flat area of fields with enormous buildings nearby. Just as they moved off again a huge aircraft landed on the field. It scared Ginny at first. She had heard the planes overhead the first night she and Hermione had arrived in Godric's Hollow and in her own time period she had seen and heard muggle aircraft high above, but never before had she seen an aircraft so close before. It actually mesmeriszed her as she watched a large Dakota landing and gently coming to a standstill.

The most common structure on the base appeared to be some strange semi-circular, curved-roofed huts. They looked like metal tunnels, except they were all above ground. _They look like something to keep giant rabbits in, _thought Ginny, amused. The car stopped nearby to one and the MP got out and then opened her door. "I believe you know Sergeant Riccardi?" he said.

Matt came forward and offered her his hand to get out of the car. "Hey there, Joan," he said smiling. "Enjoy the ride?"

"Yes," she said, unsure what she could answer to that. "I thought you were going to be there, in the car?"

"I had to finish off some things here, I couldn't leave in time for the car they booked for you," he said. "I hope those guys didn't scare you?" he asked nodding to the MP and driver. The MP gave a smile and got back into the car, which drove off back the way it had come.

"No, " she said. "I was just a bit nervous as to how to talk to them." Taking a breath, she couldn't delay things any longer, "So can I see He...Helen now?"

"That's why you're here, isn't it?" Matt smiled. "I'll take you to her."

Ginny took another obvious breath, partly to control her nerves and partly to prepare herself for whatever she might face when she met with Hermione again. It seemed she was going to enter one of those strange shaped-buildings, and followed Matt through the door.

XXXXXXXXX

Hermione awoke as one of the medics came round to check on her. It must have been quite early in the morning as the lights were still on in the Hospital Wing.

"What time is it?" she asked.

"6.20am," said the medic.

She still felt tired and after the medic left again, she found herself dropping off to sleep until she was woken a couple of hours later to have breakfast. They offered all kinds of options, nearly as many different things as Hogwarts provided for breakfast, but she opted for toast.

Not taking much notice until the day before, Hermione had realized that she didn't have much pain, and the reason for that became apparent; she had had one or two long-lasting pain-killing injections. _Maybe that had something to do with my...odd dream?_ she thought.

After a while she could feel the wounds ache and feel sore, but she decided to refuse more pain medication, because she wanted to be alert; she _needed_ to be alert. Unless she had any complications she had been told the Medical Officer wouldn't need to see her again until she was ready to leave the Hospital Wing. She was hoping she wouldn't see any of them in the near future if things went well.

The morning seemed to drag by, and Hermione tried to use some time up by reading the magazines she had been brought. After having read through them, she tried a small exercise in her head on how to translate a paragraph to ancient runes. That just seemed to make her tired, and she dozed off again, despite no more injections, only to be woken up by voices.

A few minutes after she heard the voices, the army medic came to her and said. "Your friend, Miss Townsend, should be able to visit soon, hopefully sometime before one o'clock."

"Thank you," Hermione said, smiling. _Ginny will really be here!_ she thought yet again.

She wouldn't have liked to admit it, but when she had first awoken that morning she had had two thoughts. Firstly that she was hoping Ginny could visit that day, but hot on the heels of that thought, almost bundling it out of the way to trample over the first thought, was the remembrance of her dream about Ginny. _I must not keep thinking about it,_ she thought sternly to herself. _This is sooo not the time or place!_

Time seemed to go so slowly, and she was sure the medics were tired of constantly being asked for the time. Lunch would have again nearly matched the choice of a Hogwarts lunch table, but Hermione wasn't concentrating on it much, still nearly counting away the seconds and minutes.

Not knowing the exact time, and nearly drumming her hands on the bed in her fidgety impatience, Hermione finally heard voices again. Her hopes dropped when she was sure it was just two of the medic soldiers, until she heard a woman's voice say, "She's been in this building the whole time?"

"Yeah, well, after she came out of surgery, anyway," answered a man.

_Ginny? She's really here!_ Hermione thought for about the hundredth time, except this time she _was _really going to be there. Hermione felt almost ashamed of how she wanted to shout with glee.

"Surgery?" asked the concerned voice that was Ginny.

"She'll tell you about it, I'm sure," said the man, who Hermione now recognized as Matt.

There were multiple footsteps and then Matt and Ginny appeared at the bottom of her bed.

"Hello!" Hermione said, almost squeaking. Her throat felt tight, as if she was on the verge of bursting into tears, and she wasn't sure if she would actually do that or not.

"Hi!" said Ginny, feeling very awkward, trying to have a conversation with Matt standing there.

The sergeant looked at them, and realized he was making them feel uncomfortable. "Well, I'm sure you two need to catch up, I'll see you later," he said, holding a hand up to wave before turning and leaving.

"Get that chair to sit on," said Hermione, pointing to the chair near the bed.

For a few moments after Ginny sat down to face her friend, they didn't say a word to each other. Hermione smiled a couple of times and Ginny did also, but they both kept looking away.

Ginny couldn't get over how drawn and tired Hermione looked, with dark shadows under her eyes and her cheeks looked somehow hollow and thinner.

Hermione thought Ginny looked different; she couldn't say exactly what it was, but something about her was changed. It might have been strain or confidence or a bit of both.

"I can't believe you're here?" said Hermione, finally breaking the oddly thick atmosphere between them.

"What happened?" Ginny asked in a low voice, that wouldn't be heard by anyone else. "Why didn't you Apparate to the house?"

"Gaunt," she said in an equally low voice. "He'd come round and had hold of my leg, so I had to fight him off. It was just like that stupid dream with the snake, because the old sod bit my leg too."

Hermione was thankful and amazed that where Morfin Gaunt had bitten her had not become infected and was already a small series of little scabs. With the attention all on the objects which had impaled her, no questions had been asked about her leg. Hermione was hoping the medical people thought it was a regular kind of animal bite from an over enthusiatic Yorkshire terrier or such. The small wounds from the spells that had cut into her arm and leg were also so minor that they were healing by themselves.

"Did the old git lash out? Was he responsible for all your injuries?" Ginny asked.

"No," said Hermione with a sigh. "I had just stunned the old man off me, when John Massey showed up."

"What did _he_ want?" Ginny asked, her eyes wide.

"Well he said he was looking out for Morfin, and he didn't like what he saw me do to him. I hid my wand behind my back, but he knew; he knew it was a wand and he knew what I was. That's when he drew his _own_ wand."

"What?" said an incredulous Ginny. "He's a wizard?"

"From what he said, I'm not sure he's exactly trained or legal, but he was expecting someone to pay Gaunt a visit and then he said he was to hold whomsoever it was for 'young Tom', and for however long it took him to visit."

"Bloody Hell!"

"I know, it's insane, isn't it?" Hermione took a deep breath. "So I had to duel with him, but of course I couldn't kill him or maim him, because that would be changing things too much."

"Did Massey or you...use _incendio_?" asked Ginny, almost whispering the last bit.

"Yes, I was trying to get him hopping about so I could Disapparate," said Hermione. "How did you know about that?"

"Dumbledore."

"You've...you've seen him?"

"Yes, how do you think I knew where to start my search?" Ginny smiled, and went on to tell Hermione what she had done back at Godric's Hollow and how Dumbledore had had help to find where Hermione had been at Great Hangleton, and then how Matt and Joe had talked to her.

"You're amazing Gin, you know that?" said Hermione, beaming at her friend.

"Not really! I didn't have a clue what to do, until Dumbledore visited me," said an ashamed Ginny. "I was a mess until then."

"The lengths you went to, to find me," said the brunette again. "I can't imagine how scared you must have been to do all that alone?"

"I promised to find you, whatever happened," Ginny said, not able to look at her friend. "I couldn't leave you, and I would never leave you. You'd do the same for me, I know."

"Absolutely, I would have. But I still think you're amazing," said Hermione, aware that Ginny was blushing and she might start to herself, so she spoke again. "Matt told me that to begin with, they thought _you_ had hurt me," she said with a chuckle.

"_Hurt_ you?" Ginny nearly choked. "They accused me of murdering you! Or attempting to at least!"

"They what?"

"It was a bit of a shock, to say the least," said Ginny. "I thought you were dead, it was a while before they told me you were alive and where you were."

"I would have been dead, if not for Matt and Joe finding me," said Hermione, in an even quieter voice.

"So let's go back a bit, what happened to you? What happened to Massey?"


	32. Needs Must

32: Needs Must

Hermione told Ginny about the duel she had had with Massey, remembering certain details about it.

"Anyway," said Hermione. "Just as I was Disapparating he cast a spell that threw bits of branch at me. It was only when I Apparated in Great Hangleton churchyard that I realized a couple of bits had...sort of stuck into me."

Ginny put a hand to her mouth, trying to imagine her friend with the injuries she described and then understanding why there was all that blood. "Why...why didn't you Disapparate to the house? Why Great Hangleton churchyard?"

"I didn't want to risk taking anyone with me," said Hermione. "I couldn't risk the house or your safety as well. I hoped to Disapparate from there, but I dropped my wand and passed out I think."

"You had surgery?" asked Ginny. "Or so I heard before I saw you?"

"Apparently. I didn't know a thing about it...obviously, because I was put out, but they got the bits of wood out." Then Hermione lowered her voice to an even lower whisper again. "What I wouldn't give to get my hands on some dittany. I'm not vain, but these scars will be hideous and take ages to heal otherwise!"

"Oh god! I forgot again!" said Ginny remembering. "What happened to the Ring? And your bag?"

"I'm told my things are safe, but whether they're in this room at the medic's office or somewhere else I don't know for sure."

"I can ask for you later," said Ginny.

"I was so scared that when they told me they had to cut off my jacket, that they'd discarded it with all the contents. That could have been a nightmare of the worst kind!"

"I've already had one of those," said Ginny. She hadn't meant to mention anything about dreams, but she just said it before she could stop herself. Thankfully she was pushing aside any thoughts of the dreams where she kissed Hermione.

"Bad dreams, still?"

"Yeah. The kind where I visited a churchyard with my family to lay flowers on Fred and Harry's graves...and yours too," admitted Ginny. "That was before I knew anything about where you went or if you were alive."

"That's terrible!" said Hermione, only able to imagine what a dream like that would have been like. For Ginny to have had that dream while she was alone too; it actually brought tears to Hermione's eyes. "I'm so sorry!"

"What for?" Ginny asked. "There's nothing we can do about our dreams. The main thing is, you're alive and I know where you are." Ginny paused, then suddenly had another thought. "Oh, I know what I need to tell you," she said, unsure why she hadn't said it sooner. "John Massey has actually gone missing."

"Really?"

"Yeah, Lottie at The White Hart said he went missing the same day...the same day we did that _thing_ and you got hurt. Of course village gossip says he went off with some woman, but I'm thinking differently now, after your confrontation with him."

"That _is_ interesting," said Hermione, trying to think of where the man went.

"Are you sure you didn't accidentally turn him to dust?" asked Ginny, half in jest.

"I'm bloody sure I didn't! He was alive and well, and throwing bits of wood at me, the last sight I had of him. Maybe Gaunt did something to him?"

Ginny shook her head. "No, they searched...HQ...and found nothing. Apparently he'd been keeping a close eye on the old codger for a couple of months and everyone thought it was odd."

"Obviously helping You Know Who, because that's who he was going to hold onto me for," said Hermione.

Ginny then told Hermione what Dumbledore had told her about Tom Riddle watching Dumbledore and walking out of a lesson around the time they were at Morfin Gaunt's.

"So it seems, it's my fault really," said Ginny, not feeling able to look Hermione in the eye. "My Disapparating set off the magical warding."

"Don't you dare blame yourself for this!" said Hermione adamantly. "It could have happened to either of us. It's just one of those things. I actually thought, that had I not been so worried about hiding magic from Massey, that I could have Disapparated before he revealed himself."

There was a marginally awkward silence, before Hermione spoke again. "Ginny, I need to get away from this place," she said.

"Are they asking questions you can't answer?"

"Yes, but so far it's only been the medics and Matt and Joe, but they're saying the Colonel, the officer commanding the base, will want to talk with me. I'm expecting it at any time, and I don't know just how good our...our identities are," the brunette whispered.

"Can't you just say you're feeling better, go for a walk and Disapparate?" asked Ginny, trying to think of a simple solution first.

"I can't," Hermione shook her head. "Firstly they'd never let me wander off on this base by myself and secondly...," she paused and looked down. "Secondly I'm too weak to walk far, and I'm not sure I can Disapparate by myself safely."

"Oh, sorry," said Ginny, feeling bad for putting her foot in her mouth.

"Don't be, it's not your fault. If I could just get access to some dittany...not here, because that would raise way too many questions, but as soon as I can get away, maybe I'd be back to good health much faster...maybe."

"What about Matt and Joe helping us get away?" asked Ginny.

"They follow orders," said Hermione. "I'm not sure we could get them to break rules."

"Ron never thought _you'd_ break any rules at Hogwarts but I seem to remember several times that you did!" chuckled Ginny.

"This is a bit more serious than being out of bed after dark at school," said Hermione, sighing. "We'd have to tell them things, that we can't say, and they wouldn't believe it even if we could tell them."

"We'll think of something. We always do." Then Ginny gave a grin. "We certainly get ourselves into the most complicated of situations don't we? One crisis to anoth..." she stopped talking in mid-sentence. They heard voices at the end of the Hospital Wing again.

"This way sir, she's in the end bay bed."

Ginny mouthed questioningly, 'sir?' to Hermione and the brunette just shrugged her shoulders as if to say, 'I don't know who it is'.

Several sounds of footsteps were followed by the appearance of a medic and two immaculately dressed men, obviously officers. The medic left again, leaving the officers to their business.

"Good afternoon ladies," said one of them. "I'm Major Rivers and this is Colonel Stewart our base Commanding Officer."

Both Ginny and Hermione nodded a greeting to the two men, wondering what they were going to ask, because it was obvious some kind of questions wouldn't be far away.

"Do you feel well enough to talk with us, Miss Summers?" asked the Major.

"Yes, as long as my friend stays with me."

The two officers looked at Ginny. "As it happens we want to talk with you both," Major Rivers stated.

"What do you want to talk to us about?" asked Hermione, mentally bracing herself for needing some quick thinking.

"How did you get your injuries?" asked the Colonel.

"I...I can't tell you that," said Hermione.

"You can't because you don't know, or you _won't_ tell us?" asked the Major.

"I can't tell you," said Hermione. "I'm...I'm not allowed to tell you."

"Were you under orders from your Commanding Officer?" asked Colonel Stewart.

"Yes," said Hermione.

"Could we have his name, so we can contact him?" Stewart asked her.

"I'm sorry, I can't tell you his name," said Hermione.

The two officers watched both Hermione and Ginny to gauge their reaction; they weren't happy about something, and it was more than just being told that the women weren't allowed to say anything.

"We have a problem here," said the Major. "You see, we checked your details and we couldn't find whom your Commanding Officer was. So we approached the Air Ministry and they don't seem to have any record of you at all. Wouldn't you say that's strange?"

Hermione thought hard and seemed to remember a couple of television documentaries on secret service agents and the fact that no one knew whom each other were or their officers or anything; it was all on a 'need to know' basis. There were some wartime organizations and units working on things which were so secret that even the Prime Minister Winston Churchill didn't have clue what they were working on.

"No it's not strange," said Hermione, trying to sound confident. "There are many things in Britain at the moment that only a few people know about...or will admit to knowing about."

"We wanted to contact your next of kin, but we couldn't find anyone for either of you, that's also very strange, don't you think? Won't your family be worried about you?" the Colonel continued.

"Not particularly, because they don't know where Joan and I are, or what we're doing," answered Hermione, completely truthfully.

"How do we know you're not just a couple of Nazi spies?" asked the Major.

"I don't know how to prove that we aren't," said Hermione. "But we aren't! That's the truth." Ginny just nodded in agreement with Hermione as she still wasn't entirely sure what a Nazi was even after her experience in 1943 so far. She had thought of them as Slytherin-like but in a very much more serious context than cheating to get House points.

"Here's our other problem," said the Colonel. "You're not supposed to be here. We took you in because the sergeant who found you insisted on it and said it was for your safety, but you're attached to the Royal Air Force, or some other kind of organization which you won't deny or affirm. There's a lot of people won't like what we've done in taking you in. We will have to declare you to the correct authorities in the next forty-eight hours. So we need to know who you two are, or we'll have no choice and will have to hand you over to your Military Police as whatever they decide you are...be that deserters or spies...and let them sort it out. We're here as Allies, and that means we have to tread very carefully."

"We'll be back tomorrow morning," said the Major, realizing they weren't going to get any answers at the moment. "Think carefully about what you want to do. We understand secret missions and undercover units and we have clearance to keep those secrets too. It might be better to tell us what happened to you and why, rather than tangling with Military Police and all the paperwork with it. We'll see you tomorrow."

"Do I have to stay on the base?" asked Ginny, wondering if they sounded so heavy-handed whether they would let her leave.

"Yes, I'm afraid so," said the Colonel. "I'm told you can stay in this room, as we have no other facilities for you, and thankfully there's no one else here at the moment." Then, without another word, just a nod, the two officers left.

"Military Police," said Ginny.

"What about them?" asked a very worried Hermione.

"MP!" said Ginny. "It was a Military Policeman who escorted me in the car. So...so he was there to stop me going off, then?"

"Sounds like it," said Hermione.

"I think you were tempting fate when you spoke about having that Colonel bloke pay you a visit. Either that or you've found a skill for divination!"

"Ginny, I need to get out of here as soon as possible. Tonight! _We_ need to get out of here by tonight! We can't tell those two officers anything, they just want to know what the British are up to. I highly doubt they have clearance for a lot of British military operations anyway."

"How do we leave?" Ginny asked. "Can we Disapparate from here? Is there a reason why I can't just Side-Along Apparate you? I've never instigated it before, and only ever been taken. Is it risky?"

"It can be, but I have faith in you," said Hermione with a warm smile. "I'm just not sure about these strange metallic covered buildings like this one we're in and if they will have any effect on Disapparating. I think we need to be outside somehow, just to be on the safe side. Unfortunately if the building miracualously proves to be impossible to Apparate to and from, we don't have a house-elf to help us and we'd be in a mess before we got anywhere. But first, I need my possessions...and my bag, because I need some clothes."

"I didn't think of clothes, but you're right," said Ginny. "All I've got is what you see me in and an old nightshirt I borrowed from the house."

"I also have my blasted period and would like access to some decent..._stuff_," Hermione said feeling her cheeks warm. "What they've given me to...well, _use,_ is hideous!"

"I'm sorry to hear that. On top of everything else you get the monthly curse too? That's not fair," said Ginny.

"Apparently it's normal after trauma or whatever. Anyway, clothes are a more important issue for the moment. Go and ask about my things," Hermione said. "If we can at least get that sorted out."

They let a couple of minutes pass to make sure the officers had properly left before Ginny stood up and walked to the end of the Hospital Wing to find a medic. She found one sitting at a desk, shuffling through folders.

"Hi," said Ginny. "My friend was wondering if she could have her possessions?"

"Why does she want them now?"

Ginny had to think very fast so as not to appear suspicious. "She's worried she's lost some jewellery and wants to make sure it was picked up. If it wasn't she might have to get someone to look for it at the place where she was found."

The medic looked at her, but seemed to accept the explanation. He bent down below the desk, and Ginny heard some clicking noises followed by a louder click. _Opening a safe_, thought Ginny.

"There you are," said the medic. "That's all we found on her."

"Thanks," said Ginny taking the beaded bag and the pouch which held the Ring, that the medic was proffering to her. It was all she could do to stop herself from skipping like a little girl back down the ward.

"How did you get on?" asked Hermione, anxious.

"No problems!" Ginny said as she handed over the beaded bag and the pouch.

"No wand? I shouldn't expect it...I mean, why would they pick up a stick and think it was mine?" Hermione said as she looked. "Was this all they had of mine, then?"

"That's what he said." Ginny wanted to grin, broadly.

"I can't believe I lost my wand?" the brunette said, obviously very upset about it.

"You don't have to believe it," said Ginny, as she pulled out Hermione's wand from her sleeve.

"How? What?...How?" Hermione looked astonished. Ginny thought it had been worth getting hit on her injured hand by the wand, just to see her friend's face now.

"It came to me that you might have dropped it and that I'd possibly overlooked it the first time, because of all the shrubs and twigs. Sooo, I went back and used _accio_," said Ginny smiling.

"You're bloody incredible!" said Hermione. "I mean it!" Ginny couldn't help blushing in response.

"At least you have your wand back, because things could get even more tricky with only mine," said Ginny.

"It happened when it was just Harry and myself...searching for horcruxes," said Hermione as she put her wand into the beaded bag. "His wand was broken, and he had to borrow mine a lot. It was very awkward and definitely not the ideal. Thankfully Ron got a spare from some snatchers, but it wasn't as good as Harry's old wand; not as responsive to him."

_Broken wand and now a broken body_, Ginny thought about Harry. Then she shook her head to clear her mind again. "So back to how and when we're going to leave," said the redhead.

"Leave?" said a male voice.

Ginny muttered 'shit' under her breath, as Matt appeared at the end of Hermione's bed with Joe in tow this time. They hadn't heard any footsteps. _Unless they were sent to spy on us,_ thought Ginny, _in which case they heard a lot more than we wanted them to and probably only understood one word in ten._

"We were just talking about how I hope to leave here soon," said Hermione.

"I can imagine," said Matt. "I hear that you're to stay here on the base, Joan?"

"Yes," said Ginny.

"So I'm guessing you didn't say anything to Stew? The Colonel that is?" asked Matt, interested.

"No, because we _can't_ say anything," Hermione answered for them both. "I don't know what your Colonel hopes us to say, but we can't say anything. We're not Nazi spies either!"

"He's just trying to follow protocol," Matt explained. "He's a bit of a tight ass about that kind of thing."

"I thought he was just a nosy old turd," Ginny said, unable to stop herself from blurting out her thoughts. Joe and Matt laughed, then the latter went serious again.

"You girls are mixed up in something big, aren't you?" Matt asked. When neither woman answered but just flicked their eyes to each other, the sergeant nodded. "Thought so."

"It's nothing sinister," said Hermione.

"No? The state we found you in, would tell a different tale," said Joe.

"We didn't say it was easy or safe, but we're...we're not Nazis, or spies or any of that," said Hermione, trying to explain as much as she could. "What we're doing is very important. It's small, but it will make a huge difference...or so we've been told."

"Why can't you tell us or our officers the basics of what your duty is?" asked Matt.

"We can't tell you, because...because...," Hermione stumbled on the words.

"Because it would put more than just our lives at risk and even if we could tell you something about it, you wouldn't understand half of it and wouldn't believe the other half," said Ginny, coming to the rescue.

"We need to get away from here, as soon as we can," said Hermione in a very low voice, looking straight at Matt, hopeful and determined, having made up her mind to ask for help. "But before your Colonel can visit again and before we get turned over to Military Police or our own Air Ministry; because if that happens we're in serious trouble...more than you can imagine, and our whole mission will have been for nothing. My injuries will have been for nothing. We need to get away by tonight...can you help us?"

"That's a huge request?" said Matt. "We'd be put on a charge for aiding the escape of...of whatever you two are."

"We know that," said Hermione. "You've already done so much for us both, and I probably owe you and Joe my life. But please, can you help us?"

"We'd like to," said Joe. "But, I don't know. It would put us both in deep trouble. _Deep_ deep trouble."

"Not if it looks like we escaped from you," said Ginny. She was sitting on the chair, leaning forwards and rested her head on her hand, almost chewing a finger in deep thought.

"Um, that's the same thing isn't it?" asked Joe. "We would still be responsible for letting you go?"

"Not if we used you, then hit you over the head and disappeared before you came round again," said Ginny.

"A couple of girls knocking out a couple of us?" Matt said. "No one would buy that!"

"Well, your Colonel, thinks we're some kind of spies or secret operatives, and they're renown for silent and fast techniques in that kind of area," offered Hermione, already latching onto the sort of idea Ginny had begun. "It wouldn't be such a wild possibility. We wouldn't have to really hit you, you could play unconscious."

"Okay, say we do that," said Matt. "How are you two going to clear a US Army base? You'd have to walk through buildings or climb fences...all kinds of stuff, without being seen by our guards."

There was silence between the four of them, with the two soldiers much more uneasy than the two young women. Ginny was trying to think hard of anything that would be helpful. "We'd need to get to the edge of the base, but not near any buildings...near the trees at the perimeter," she said, remembering what she had seen on the drive through the base to the Hospital Wing.

"Got it!" said Hermione suddenly, surprising the others. "You offer to take me for a walk...this evening, to get some air. I say walk," chuckled Hermione. "You'd have to wheel me in a wheelchair; you take us to near the perimeter. You fake the unconscious bit...unless you want Gin...Joan to actually hit you; but I warn you she packs one hell of a punch. Then we leave and...well that's it. Then you can tell a story of how we took you both completely by surprise and had you knocked out before you knew what was happening."

"Wow, that makes _us_ look good?" said Joe, employing a lot of sarcasm.

"Firstly," said Matt. "I don't know how you're going to get over or through the perimeter fence and certainly not in a wheelchair...and as tough as you say Joan is I can't see her carrying you over the fence. And secondly, you'll be searched for, you won't be able to get that far away, especially in your condition Helen."

"No one from this base will find us," said Hermione confidently. "You'll just have to trust me on that, but no one will be able to find us...not close to here anyway."

Matt looked about to protest again, but Ginny talked over him this time. "Please, will you help us?"

"It's not just our lives at risk," said Hermione. "We wish we could tell you all about it, you deserve to know, but we can't. Help us get away, please?"

Expelling a huge deep breath, Matt looked at Joe, who shrugged his shoulder and raised his eyebrows, then nodded. "All right, you've got us," said Matt.

"Thank you," said Hermione. "I don't know how we'll ever thank you properly."

"You haven't left yet," said Matt.

"No, not yet," said Hermione. "Hmm, it starts getting dark here by six o'clock-ish, so anytime before then. It can't be too late, because it would be odd to want to take me out in the dark and cold air. Can you work with that?"

"What about a little after half-five, before dinner?" asked Matt.

"Great, works for us," said Hermione.

"I know the exact part of the perimeter that's away from the rest of the base," said Joe.

"You _do_?" asked Matt surprised.

"Hey, I got bored a lot in the first couple of weeks, I took a lot of runs and walks around the base," Joe replied grinning.

"Do we need to bring you some clothes?" asked Matt.

"No, I have some spare in my bag," said Ginny tapping her small gas mask bag, before convincingly adding. "I have a way of folding things up really small." _That was a close one,_ she thought.

"Great, we'll come by later, then?" said Matt. "I can't believe we're agreeing to this?" He shook his head with a soft laugh.

"Because you're super nice men and know it's the right thing to do?" offered Hermione, smiling.

"You'll be the death of us!" said Matt. "But I never could say 'no' to a pretty face."

Hermione blushed, but was so relieved that they were going to get help, that she didn't care about her reddening cheeks.

They heard footsteps, which was likely to be one of the army nurses. "Wait," she told the two American soldiers, as they were about to turn and leave.

"Okay boys, you've had a few minutes, best be moving out now," said the medic.

"Er, can I ask you something?" Hermione said to the medic. "I'm so fed up of this bed and this room, could Matt and Joe wheel me outside for a bit of fresh air before supper? Matt said he could keep an eye on me, and Joe would do the same on my friend."

The medic looked at Hermione uncertainly, he wasn't used to having that kind of request. "I'll have to ask permission from the Medical Officer and..."

"That's fine...could you ask him now? So Matt knows about it before he comes back later?"

The medic looked very flustered, but so much so, that he gave Hermione a nod and walked back down the ward.

"He's going to his office," whispered Joe as he looked at where the medic had gone.

A few minutes later the medic was back. "The Medical Officer says it should do you some good. But you two," he addressed Matt and Joe. "Will have to ask permission from your own officer yourselves."

"Thank you," said Hermione. "I hope to see you later," she said to Matt, who had grimaced after being told they would have to seek permission from their own officer.

When it was just Ginny and Hermione again, they couldn't stop a smile from reaching their lips. "All we've seemed to do lately is make plans," said Ginny. "I just hope those two can get the permission. I'm sure they will...after all there's two of them and only two of little old us!"

"That's what I'm hoping," said Hermione. "For a moment there, I felt like I'd had a swig of Felix Felicis. Everything slotted into place at the right time."

"Well I'm not counting any chickens yet," said Ginny. "I'm not even going to count the eggs!"

"There are some small problems still," said Hermione, sighing.

"Such as?"

"If they're going to pretend to be knocked out, they'll see us Disapparate," said the brunette. "Even if we really knocked them out and moved a few feet away, they're still going to either see or have some idea that we disappeared on the spot."

"You're right," said Ginny. "Although, they already know we're a bit mysterious, and working on something probably secret, we're unlikely to come back here, so if they do catch a glimpse of it, it won't be as big a problem as it might be."

"True," mused Hermione. "I suppose even if they did tell someone they wouldn't be believed...or they wouldn't say anything because they'd know they would sound silly. BUT, if they do say something it might work in our favour more...it will add to the idea that they've taken a blow to the head!"

"So any other problems we need to iron out?" asked Ginny. "You'll have to wear the skirt uniform from your bag, won't you?"

"Yes, but I won't bother with those awful stockings. I have my shoes under the bed here thankfully, so I won't have to go barefoot...it's not like I'll have to walk far and make my feet sore in the shoes or anything. I also discovered I still have my wonderful gas mask and bag; it's in the bedside cabinet. At least I'll have most things I should have." Hermione paused, lightly chewed her bottom lip before continuing. "I'm still not that great so you'll...you'll have to help me dress," said Hermione, feeling her cheeks go hot again. _Those bloody dreams,_ she thought, _a week ago I wouldn't have thought anything about Ginny helping me to dress...now though. Just stop thinking about it...needs must, think about it later! _

Ginny wanted to cough and at the same time didn't want to show any reaction, so she just smiled and nodded. _Oh great,_ she thought, _I've got to help her dress. Those blasted dreams...I'll probably be blushing and coughing and spluttering. A week ago it wouldn't have mattered. Why did those dreams have to happen and make me feel awkward?_ Her conscience joined in then:

_**You'll get your hands on her, and your eyes, in completely innocent circumstances**__, __**enjoy it!**_ _Enjoy it? I won't know where to look. And wonderful!...I now have the mentality of a pervert! _


	33. Back Together

**A/N: Onwards with the show. :)**

33: Back Together

It was late afternoon with about an hour before Matt and Joe were due back, and Ginny had insisted that Hermione take a short nap before then, so she was ready for their hoped for attempt to leave the base. Ginny had flicked though a couple of the magazines that Hermione had by her bed, unable to stop herself from frequently looking over to her sleeping friend and feeling overjoyed again, that she had found her.

When Hermione awoke, from a thankfully dreamless nap, she got Ginny to keep nearer the end of the bed to watch out for the army nurses, while she rummaged through her beaded bag and brought out some clothes including a spare bra as the one Hermione had worn the day she was injured had been cut off too. Hermione had a WAAF skirt and jacket, but no spare shirt and she wouldn't have dreamed of using Harry's which was in the bag. Luckily she found a shirt of Ron's which would do.

With the beaded bag put aside, Ginny walked to the medic's office to say she was going to put the screens all around the bed to help Hermione get dressed. The army medic gave his assent, and seemed relieved that he wouldn't have to be doing the job himself.

Ginny was almost dreading her next job, as she walked back to Hermione's bed; fearful that she would act a little differently. Once back to the bed, she pulled the screens around it.

"Right," said Hermione. "We better make a start. I'll need a little help with getting this gown off over my head, I already have some undies on, so we haven't got to worry about that," she smiled. _Thank goodness for that...Ginny's eyes and hands anywhere near my...eek...that would have been difficult, to say the least! _she thought.

"Okay," said Ginny, unable to stop a swallow as she walked forward. _Thank goodness I didn't have to be on panties duty...that _would _have been extremely awkward!_

Hermione sat on the side of the bed and had rucked up the gown and Ginny helped to slide it up and over her head. _Look but don't stare,_ Ginny thought to herself, _concentrate on anything other than her breasts...her firm lovely...I said CONCENTRATE! _she scolded herself.

Ginny then really noticed the two square white dressings covering where Hermione had been impaled; one just above her breast and the other nearly at her waist. Amazingly, it did completely take Ginny's mind off the fact Hermione's breasts were free to her gaze, although she did try very hard not to think on that fact as well.

"No wonder there was so much blood," said the redhead, sadly.

"I'll mend," said Hermione cheerfully. "Especially if I get a bit of help from the magical world. Er...I can get my bra on, but...but could you do it up for me?"

Swallowing, with a very dry mouth again, Ginny nodded and reached around the back of Hermione to fasten the hooks of her friend's bra. _**You'd much rather be undoing it again, wouldn't you?**_ her conscience asked. _Not now!_ she thought annoyed with herself, _Don't think about it!_

The potentially most embarrassing part was out of the way for both girls, with Ginny again feeling thankful that Hermione already had some undies on. Next Ginny helped Hermione to put on her shirt, skirt and jacket, finishing off with the shoes.

"How do I look?" asked Hermione, as Ginny finished tying up the second shoe.

_Beautiful,_ Ginny initially thought, but luckily stopped herself from blurting it out. "Great," she said with a grin. _Pull yourself together, _she thought, irritated with herself.

They made sure they had all their things between them, and wouldn't be leaving anything behind. All Hermione's papers and indentity cards had been placed in the bedside cabinet beside her, so they went into her jacket.

"I lost my hat somewhere," said Hermione.

"It's at the house," Ginny replied. "The elves found it in the churchyard. Although I can't say I'd be unhappy to lose mine." She decided to keep hers in her bag.

The two young women felt very nervous as they waited, and hoped that Matt and Joe had got the permission required and would be coming to help them, and Hermione wouldn't have to change back into the gown. They had both considered how foolish it would look if the men couldn't take them outside, but in getting ready they felt they were being positive.

Ginny and Hermione didn't say much in the last few minutes before the soldiers were due to arrive, and felt immense overwhelming relief when they heard footsteps down the ward and it belonged to the two men they wanted to see.

Matt was wheeling a wheelchair in front of him. "So are we ready?" he said as he got to Hermione's bed.

"Yes."

"I still say we're nuts to even try this," said Matt.

"We have to try," said Hermione, getting up with a wince and sitting in the wheelchair. "Let's go...only not too quickly, because that will look odd."

"Agreed," said Matt, who didn't really need to be told that fact.

It was a liberating feeling that coursed through Hermione as she was wheeled out through the Hospital Wing's door, to feel fresh air again. Ginny also felt a little liberated after feeling she'd almost been arrested and forced to stay on the base. Rather than bundle up Hermione with things, Ginny had Hermione's gas mask bag slung over her shoulder along with her own. If anyone asked about it, they could truthfully claim it was WAAF regulations to have the horrid equipment with them at all times.

One or two of the soldiers on the base looked their way, and smiled; a couple made crude hand gestures to Matt and Joe, which neither girl needed translated. If the whole appearance hadn't been a cover-up, Hermione and Ginny would have felt embarrassed and angry about it.

There was one soldier who came up to them and wanted to know what they were doing, but from a purely curious point of view and he too probably thought Matt and Joe were going to have some 'fun' with the girls...even if one of them was in a wheelchair after having serious injuries.

They moved a lot further from the buildings towards the grassy and shrubby perimeter Joe had spoken of, that had plenty of trees and bushes to block views of the area.

"So, are you two going to fake the whole unconscious thing, or...?" Hermione wondered.

"We're going to fake it, but we'll need a hit somewhere to make it look real," said Matt.

"Oh, right. You'll want Joan to hit you then?"

"No, we'll hit each other," laughed Joe. "Seriously, we'll take care of it."

After another leisurely walk of perhaps ten minutes, they had reached the area chosen. It was about ten to fifteen feet from the perimeter fence with shrubs in between.

"We're here, so I guess this is it?" Matt said. He looked around to check no one was looking in their direction, tapped Joe on the arm and both went behind the trees.

Ginny looked to Hermione with a raised eyebrow, wondering if the two men were taking care of a call of nature, but then heard a couple of smacking sounds followed by an exclamation of "Shit!" by one of them. Shortly afterwards the two soldiers appeared again, and in the fading light of the early evening, the two women could see both men sporting the beginning of bruises. Matt had one on the side of his cheek and brow and Joe had a bruise threatening on the side of his forehead.

The two Americans stood looking at the two WAAFs, with no one speaking, until Hermione felt she ought to say something. "It would be preferable if you faced the other way from us," she said.

"Are you gonna strip your clothes off and change into civvies?" said Joe with a hopeful chuckle.

"No. We'd just prefer that you don't see our escape," said Hermione.

"We still don't see how you're going to get over that fence, and I don't think I saw bolt-cutters anywhere on your persons, to go through it?"

Hermione took a deep breath mirrored by Ginny giving a nervous sigh. "If you don't look away, and you _do_ watch us, you might see something you can't explain," said Hermione, carefully. "It's something you're not supposed to see, and would...would...,"

"You'd never be believed if you tried to explain it," said Ginny.

"Wow, that makes us _want_ to see you leave!" said Matt, smiling.

Hermione sighed this time, tiredly, the whole day taking its toll on her already. "If you watch, then you watch, we can't stop you. Just don't tell anyone about it."

"I don't think they'll want to, if they see it!" said Ginny. "Everyone will think they were brain-damaged."

"Annyway," said Hermione to the two soldiers. "Thank you...for everything."

"Thanks for helping me find her, and for saving her life," said Ginny. "We'll never forget you."

"It's been a pleasure," said Matt.

"Until we get a Court Martial," added Joe with a laugh. Unexpectedly both men came up and hugged Hermione and Ginny.

"You take care of yourselves, girls," said Matt.

"Try to stay out of trouble," said Joe. Neither man really believed the two girls could escape, and fully expected to be taking them back to the Hospital Wing again.

Both men sat down on the ground ready to play their part afterwards, as Hermione stood up out of the wheelchair. She was wobbly on her feet and Ginny got hold of her arm to support her as they walked a few steps towards the trees and bushes, hoping it would hide most of them.

"Just Disapparate the way you would normally," said Hermione in a whisper to Ginny. "And have tight hold of me."

_Gladly,_ thought Ginny. _Argh! Stop it!_ she admonished herself, _these thoughts are getting ridiculous! I suppose the stress of the situation is making my mind more scatty..._

"Er, Gin?" asked Hermione. "Are you ready?"

"Sorry," Ginny said, annoyed that she'd let her mind wander at such a crucial moment as this.

Hermione was so shaky on her feet that Ginny put her left arm around her, and the brunette gripped her back around the waist, clutching at the material of her jacket. With her wand and mind on the back garden of Dumbledore's house in Godric's Hollow, Ginny Disapparated them both; the sensations hitting them as the action worked exactly as it was meant to. They left the US Army base in West Yorkshire and were back at Godric's Hollow.

On the ground both Matt and Joe had looked to where the two women had walked to and stood. They could see part of Ginny just past a tree; an elbow, a bit of trousers and Hermione's hand gripped around her friend, and not long after, the men heard a whooshing cracking noise and then they could no longer see the girls. The WAAFs hadn't moved though, somehow they just weren't visible anymore, as if they were looking through them.

Looking around to make sure there was still no one looking in their direction, Matt got up and walked to the place the women had gone to. "They've gone!" he said to Joe.

"Really? You're not shitting me?"

"Come and look for yourself."

Joe got up and went to look and sure enough the women had gone. "Fuck!"

Matt looked at the fence and saw there was no hole, and no sign of anyone having stood in the vegetation near to the fence at all. "Well, I'll be damned if I know how they did that?" he said.

"Those two were a mystery from the start," said Joe. "A pretty mystery, but hiding more things than we'll ever know."

"Worth getting into serious trouble for?" asked Matt.

"Yeah," said Joe. "But I hope one of these days we'll come back and find those two again."

Matt smiled. "So, we'll lie on the ground for a little while, then go raise the alarm...I always liked the idea of acting."

"You're not exactly Cary Grant!" said Joe.

"No, but I don't need to be for this."

XXXXXXXXXX

Ginny felt her feet touch the ground, and could still feel her arm around Hermione and her friend's arm and hand were tight around her waist still. The redhead looked around and was relieved to see they were in the back garden of Dumbledore's house; exactly where they were supposed to be.

"Urghhh!" groaned Hermione, getting hit by the horrible side-effects of Side-Along Apparating.

"You all right?" Ginny asked. "I didn't splinch you, did I?"

"No," said Hermione. "I just feel a bit...," She suddenly turned away, bent over and threw up. As she tried to stand up straight again she wobbled badly and nearly fell into Ginny, but her friend had been ready to hold her up. "Just the Apparating got to me...that's all," said Hermione, a little slurred as if she were drunk, as she further leaned into Ginny, exhausted.

"I think we need to get you to bed," said Ginny, concerned.

"I thought you'd never ask," said Hermione with a giggle, unaware that she was acting light-headed.

_That's not very helpful,_ thought Ginny, although she couldn't help but be amused.

_**Don't you wish she really meant it?**_ her conscience wondered. _I don't know!_

_**Yes you do! **__Maybe, yes..._

_**Hehehe!**_

Using the assistance of a levitation spell, Ginny was able to get Hermione into the house, dumped the gas mask bags in the kitchen, then Apparated the very short distance into the bedroom. With a flick of her wand she pulled back the bedcovers then laid Hermione onto the bed. She got the beaded bag, and used _Accio _to find some garments to sleep in, then flicked her wand again to change Hermione from her uniform to her T'Shirt and pyjama bottoms, in one quick action. She was glad that it didn't give her any option of actually seeing bare flesh, and so avoided further awkwardness.

_If I could have used magic to dress her on the army base, it would have made things easier,_ she thought, and that only stirred her conscience into life again:

_**Yes, but then you wouldn't have seen her lovely body.**_ _I wasn't actually looking that closely. _

_**You wanted to.**__ Bloody hell, these thoughts are getting obsessive! Up until a few days ago I loved Harry, I still do, I think. I wanted Harry; Harry and all his little hairy bits...how have I suddenly started thinking about Hermione's curvy bits? _

_**Perhaps you always liked them, and never thought you **_**could **_**even like her in that way? **__That's a bit pathetic and ignorant of me. As if things couldn't get any more confusing in the circumstances!_

Ginny covered Hermione with the bedcovers and smiled as she saw her friend almost immediately go to sleep, the whole day having worn her out.

"Th...thanks Ginn...nyyy," said Hermione in a mumbled, slurred voice as sleep came to her.

It was early evening, and Ginny thought she had better pass a message on to Dumbledore. Hermione hadn't specifically said anything, but Ginny had decided to ask him to visit again, when he could, to aid in the fast recovery that Hermione needed. When she awoke, Hermione could use dittany, but she wasn't sure if that alone would improve her overall health and Ginny knew that neither of them possessed brilliant medical skills.

To pass on the message, meant another trip to the third bedroom to talk with Kendra Dumbledore. Ginny wasn't as bothered by that thought as she might have been a few days ago; Professor Dumbledore's mother had shown her kindness and she had always passed the messages on, she just had the outward appearance and personality of someone with a superiority complex.

Walking into the third bedroom, and finding the portrait on the wall unsurprisingly empty, Ginny went up close to it and called for its occupant.

"Mrs. Dumbledore?" Ginny said. "I need to talk with you. I have some important news."

Also unsurprisingly there was no sound after Ginny's request, which made the redhead sigh feeling irritated. _I bet the old baggage makes us wait on purpose,_ she thought.

"Mrs. Dumbledore? Can I talk with you, please?"

A familiar rustling sound met her ears and the haughty woman appeared, walking into her portrait. "Miss Weasley, you're back? Or did you never leave?"

"I've left and come back," Ginny said, feeling a little stung by the accusation that she hadn't left at all. "I need to get a message to Professor Dumbledore."

"Again?" asked Kendra in a condescending tone.

"Yes, again," said Ginny, trying hard not to let any frustration show. "Please tell him that I've got Hermione back, but she was seriously injured. Some muggle army people treated her, but it's not as complete as it could be. We'll need some help for her. We have dittany, but I think she needs something more. The whole thing is a long story, but I'm certain Professor Dumbledore will want to know the details, particularly relating to whom it was that wounded Hermione."

"I can't guarantee how soon I'll be back," said Kendra. "He's not in his room at the moment, he's at a staff meeting."

"Well tell him when he gets back," said Ginny, before quickly adding, "Please. And...and tell him the thing we needed to get, is safely in our posession," she said, rather pleased with her vague way of getting Kendra to tell her son that they had the real Ring, without revealing anything obvious.

"It will be a long wait for you to know his answer," said Kendra.

Ginny knew it was heading towards seven o'clock in the evening. "How about I come back here at ten o'clock tonight and you tell me then?" she asked the portrait.

Kendra looked like she was going to protest or refuse, but staring at the red-haired young woman in front of her, and seeing the tiredness and strain on the girl's face, she agreed. "Yes, ten o'clock," Mrs. Dumbledore said.

Dumbledore's mother rose to walk out of her portrait again, just as Ginny was turning to leave the room. "Miss Weasley," Kendra said, halting Ginny's movement. "Get some rest, you look dead tired."

"I'll...I'll try," replied Ginny, taken aback once more by Kendra's small kindness.

Walking back to the bedroom, Ginny quietly and carefully picked up Hermione's clothes which had scattered from the dressing spell, and then sat on the bed next to Hermione. The redhead couldn't stop a sigh of tiredness and relief. It was at that moment she began to feel pain in her hand again.

Ginny pulled out the small enchanted bag that Dumbledore had given her and found the bottle of potion. She rubbed a small amount of the potion onto the area where she had the broken bone, seeing that it was more swollen again, thanks to all her activities.

Placing the potion bottle on the bedside cabinet on her side of the bed and taking off her jacket, and shoes, Ginny then laid back on the bed. She felt a little cold, so gently moved and slid under the bedcovers. _I have around three hours before I have to talk to Mrs. Dumbledore,_ she thought. Feeling the strain and stress of the past few days, her search for Hermione, finding her and helping to escape again, she closed her eyes intending to only nap, but went straight to sleep.

She didn't even have time for her mixed up mind to remind her she was sleeping next to Hermione again. Not unexpectedly Ginny entered a dream..._zzzzzzz_

She was walking down a dark corridor, and on closer inspection it looked more like a tunnel. It wasn't pitch black, but had a ominous green hue where unknown sources of light fell. The floor was damp, and she could hear dripping sounds of water, her footsteps echoing wetly on the stone slabs beneath her feet.

Walking further and further along, she was aware that the tunnel widened up ahead and then a thought hit her as she was dreaming. _It's the Chamber of Secrets._

Within a matter of steps Ginny was standing in the large Chamber, with it's scary stone walls, and statuesque architecture. _Why am I here? Is it because it's being opened this year?_ she thought.

A voice echoed to her, but as of yet she couldn't see the owner it came from. "So clever. So courageous. So determined."

"Who's there?" Ginny asked, her own voice echoing off the Chamber walls.

"You know who it is," said the voice. "We're old friends." From seemingly nowhere, Tom Riddle appeared and walked towards her. She knew who it was, because she remembered from the time she was basically possessed by him via the Diary in her First Year at Hogwarts.

"What do you want? We destroyed you!" Ginny said, thinking she sounded slow and girlie.

"Destroyed me?" said an incredulous Riddle. "Not completely, and you know it! You and your wonderboy Harry Potter _destroyed_ nothing more than a part of my shadow."

"You killed Harry," said Ginny, unable to voice anything that sounded intelligent or even bruising. "The older you, that is," she muttered under her breath.

"I did," said Riddle. "Harry was dead the moment he survived as a baby. Always only a matter of time. Your friend was a more worthy foe."

"My friend?"

"The mudblood."

"Don't you dare call her that!" Ginny shouted back.

"It's a truly astonishing thing, how a mudblood like her has bewitched so many purebloods to fight for her. You must know she has enchanted you all to act against your nature. Why do we call them 'mudbloods'? Their blood is dirtied by mixed breeding, and like badly bred dogs, we have to put them down," said the young man who would become, was, and had always been Voldemort.

"Maybe sick mental cases like you believe that, but many more do not," said Ginny. "Besides you had a muggle father, if I remember correctly? You're not exactly a pureblood!"

"Throw names and accusations all you want, you can not change the mudblood's heritage, any more than you can change your own blood traitor status," said the eerily calm Riddle, taking no real notice of the insult thrown at himself. "It would have been a mercy to have caught your friend back at my uncle's, to stop her blood from corrupting the magical world any further."

"You would never have had the chance. I would have found her and killed you myself, before you could touch her," said Ginny. _What am I saying?_ she thought as she dreamed it, wanting to laugh. _I'd crap myself if I faced Voldemort alone!_

"Well, believe what you must," he said, almost as if he was very bored with the whole confrontation.

"I suppose killing Harry has left you empty now, so all you can do is throw twisted insults?" suggested Ginny, feeling her ire rise.

"It was too easy, killing the boy," said Riddle. "I would have liked to have had a proper fight. But I suppose I shouldn't have expected more, going by how stupid and weak his parents were."

"Don't you dare talk of the Potters that way!" shouted Ginny. "They had more courage in their little fingers than you'll ever have, no matter how long you linger and skulk around our world."

"You're very amusing," said Riddle, with a very fake smile. "I wonder how funny you can be when I show you this?" He waved his hand and on the stone floor in the middle of the Chamber appeared Hermione; she was bound up in ropes and as she laid on the ground the pool of blood around her slowly got bigger, obviously seeping from wounds.

"What have you done to her? You never caught her...she escaped!" Ginny yelled.

"Well, clearly I _do_ have her. It was an experiment really," said Riddle. "I was interested to know just how muddy a mudblood's blood was. Also, it's been such a long time since I gave someone a long slow death...you ought to look closely at the results, it's really rather fascinating."

"You sick bastard!" Ginny shouted at him and went over to Hermione. Her friend's eyes were closed, and her face was drawn and white. She felt for a hand, and it was cold, she was either close to death or already gone. "Nooo! Hermione? NOOO!" she yelled.

_Hermione's fine and alive_, she tried to tell her dream-self. _She's right beside me in bed; I got her back. _

The dream-Ginny was on her hands and knees, crying beside Hermione, while her real self was still trying to say. _It's just a dream, it's not real._ Just when she thought she was getting through to the dream, to make it turn to something else, the young Voldemort stood on her hand, and the pain coursed through her.

_It's a dream_, she told herself again, _a mixed up dream...it's just a dream,_ she began repeating to herself.

"Ginny, it's a dream," said a voice. "You're just dreaming."

"It's a dream," said Ginny, thinking she was answering herself, until the familiar voice spoke again..._zzzzzzz_

"Yes, you were having a dream, but I'm here."

Ginny opened her eyes, startled at first, to find herself in a fourposter bed looking up at the canopy above, aware she had bedcovers over her, and then she felt someone next to her, who had an arm around her. _It's Hermione,_ she thought. But before she turned her head, afraid that the dream was real and the rescue had never happened, she took a deep breath, closed her eyes, then turned her head and opened them again.

Hermione gave her a smile, her eyes studying her from a pale tired face. "Another horrid dream?"

A now much more awake Ginny nodded. "You Know Who had you, in the Chamber of Secrets. He was watching you bleed to death," the redhead shivered to recall it. "He was full of crap as usual. I knew it was a dream, and I kept trying to tell myself it was, but all I could see was you on the floor in a pool of blood."

"Did he attack you, in the dream?" asked Hermione

"I think he stood on my hand," said Ginny, bringing up her injured hand to look at.

"Oops! That might have been my fault," said Hermione, and when Ginny frowned at her confused, she continued, "You were moving your arms around so I got hold of a hand, and then you yelled out. I thought it was a fight in your dream...I forgot about your hand, sorry."

"It doesn't matter," sighed Ginny. "I'm just glad it was a dream and you're not dying or in His hands."

"I think I was close to dying and close to being in You Know Who's hands," admitted Hermione in a quiet voice. "But I'm not, so we won't dwell on it."

"I expect it was the whole getaway thing and stress made me have that weird dream," said Ginny. "I'm so sorry I woke you up. I don't seem to be able to break _that_ habit."

"Not your fault," smiled the brunette. "The main thing is, we're both basically all right and we're back together again."

Ginny swallowed unavoidably when she heard that and had to look away, her daft mind twisting the words into something that Hermione had never thought she said and certainly didn't mean in the way it sounded. _'Back together again',_ Ginny thought, _if only I had the courage to...to work on the second meaning that's just hanging there. Even just to find out why on earth I keep having these...these feelings, ideas, or whatever they are._

However, Hermione had flicked her eyes away self-consciously too. _'Back together again',_ she thought. _Hmm, is that a teeny-weeny slip of wishful intent? I like men, don't I?Bullheaded stubborn men with big shoulders and the usual certain appendages between their legs. Not that I've had any experience with the said appendage...but that's what I want...isn't it? Why couldn't I like women's soft curves too, though? OR _instead _of the male of the species? Bloody hell, I don't know up from down at the moment._

"What time is it?" asked Ginny as she yawned, stretched and then reached for the potion bottle to apply some more to her sore hand.

"It's ten to ten," said Hermione, who now sat up in bed, looking and sounding much brighter than when they had arrived back at Godric's Hollow.

"I need to go and see if Kendra Dumbledore has a message for us, she was going to get back to me at ten o'clock."

Ginny briefly explained what she had said to the portrait earlier, before walking out of the room. Hermione had made to join her, but Ginny insisted she stay and rest, and that she would relay everything said when she got back.


	34. Not Alone Anymore

**A/N: I'm giving you a two-chapter update...just in case I don't get around to updating at the weekend as usual. :) It will also leave the story on a nice little annoying "What?". Sorry! :)**

**In terms of Ginny and Hermione and their strange dreams and feelings about each other, the next couple of chapters will show some of the awkwardness of the whole situation. It's been fun to write it in that way...because awkwardness(especially at their age) is more realistic then just 'getting it on', with no thoughts or issues. :) ****Anyone getting a little impatient for that 'element' of the story to happen, all I will say is, you'll be rewarded very soon. **

34: Not Alone Anymore

Hermione sat up in bed, wishing she had gone into the other bedroom to hear what was said, but she knew for the moment at least, she didn't have the energy. It occurred to her as she waited for Ginny, that she didn't know what day it was. She had lost track of a couple of days, but still wasn't sure what it was now. It was nearly ten past ten, when Ginny came back into the room.

"So any news?" asked Hermione, knowing she sounded too eager for any knowledge of what was said.

"When the old trout finally showed up, a few minutes late, I might add," said Ginny with a roll of her eyes. "She said Dumbledore would be able to come here tomorrow afternoon, around four o'clock. He told her nothing more than that."

"Oh, that's all right then," said Hermione. "Ginny, do you know what day it is?"

The redhead looked at her friend and had to think a moment, and went to sit back on the bed. Rolling off the days since their arrival in 1943 she counted on her fingers to help. After a couple of moments of double-checking her details, Ginny said, "It's Saturday...so that's the 20th. Probably why Dumbledore is able to come here so soon, it's the weekend and as we both know, nothing much ever happens on a Sunday at Hogwarts. I suppose, in someways we got lucky with our timing."

"We've been here over a week," said Hermione deep in thought. "It feels so much longer."

"It does," agreed Ginny. "It feels like months have passed." A little silence ensued before Ginny spoke again. "I know it's pointless to wonder, but...I do still wonder what happened in the days after we left Hogwarts?"

"There's no way to know that," said Hermione.

"But you think we probably lost, don't you?"

Hermione sighed. "We were losing _before_ we knew Harry was...that he'd passed away. So I don't think the odds got any better after we left."

"Anyway," Ginny said, desperately wishing she hadn't thought about Hogwarts and all the people they had left there. "Would you like a cup of tea? Toast? Anything?"

"You don't have to wait on me, Ginny."

"Why not? You're still not a hundred percent yet, and I'm doing nothing, I might as well be useful. Besides, I'm thinking of some tea and buttered toast for myself."

"I do feel a bit empty," admitted Hermione.

"Yeah, well that would probably be because you puked up on arrival here," said Ginny with a grin.

"I did, didn't I?" Hermione said, only vaguely remembering her arrival at the house, which made her suddenly question other things. "How...how did you get me up here? I don't remember walking up stairs or...or getting changed?" She couldn't help a faint blush reaching her cheeks, wondering how her clothes were taken off and put on.

"I used a bit of magic to help get you into the house, then Apparated us to this room. The change of clothes was also a flick of the wand...it was the easiest and fastest way."

"Thank you," said Hermione. "I'd better do a cleaning spell in the garden before Dumbledore arrives tomorrow...I don't want him finding his garden looking like the pavement outside a pub after a Friday night!"

"No problem, I can do a quick _scourgify_ when I go down in a second," said Ginny, and quickly added to cut over Hermione's protest. "_I_ can do it, don't worry about it. It's not like I have to get down on my knees with a bucket, is it?" Then beginning to feel a little uncomfortable for some reason, she continued. "Right, tea and toast for two. I'll be back in a tick."

As Hermione waited, hearing the occasional clinking sounds coming from downstairs, she somehow found herself thinking of Ron. _Would Ron have found me? Would Ron have got me to bed? _she thought. _He probably would have found me somehow, but not before annoying Matt and Joe or even taking a swing at them. As for bed, he'd have got me here, but probably left me in my clothes lying on top of it. _

_**Why are you doing this, comparing them? **_her conscience asked herself, almost knowingly. _I don't know, it just seems to be on my mind. I'm probably trying to justify my recent dreams and odd feelings over Ginny, and attribute it to her extraordinary abilities and courage. Anyone being saved, would feel something towards their saviour, wouldn't they? _

_**If that were so, why aren't you having dreams and feelings for Matt or Joe? Technically **_**they **_**saved your life. **__I don't know! I suppose it's just a normal phase for someone my age, especially someone that has been through the extremes of circumstances as I have...to think of a close female friend as something more..._

"You all right?"

"Hmm?" Hermione was brought back to the present again.

Ginny had come back into the room, carrying a tray in one hand and using the _wingardium leviosa_ charm on a second tray, that floated out in front of her. "You looked miles away and you were frowning like you do when Ron annoys you," she said smiling.

"I was just thinking about everything that's happened since we've been here," said Hermione, which wasn't a total lie. "It's all happened so fast."

"It has," said Ginny, as she set down a tray holding a plate with two slices of buttered toast, and a mug of tea onto Hermione's lap, before sitting next to her in bed with her own tray. "Although, when I got back here without you, time felt like walking through sludge. Dumbledore made me wait here until he could get back to me. I was so scared of the hours and hours I had to fill, that I cleaned and tidied the study from floor to ceiling. I found some more interesting books in the process, but the main thing was the fact I didn't give myself time to mope around too much."

Hermione glanced at her friend. "I can't imagine what that was like for you," she said. "I'm sorry I put you through that."

"You couldn't help it," said Ginny. "It was just one of those things, but I think had Dumbledore taken longer to find any trace of you, I'd have cleaned the whole house...even given Humphrey a polish up."

They both ate a little of their toast, feeling a slight tinge of almost awkwardness, before Ginny broke the silence again. "I have you to thank, really," said Ginny.

"What for?"

"You prepared for things going wrong," said Ginny. "So I had my own money, I had my papers. I know I didn't have the Ring or your bag with the Time-Turner, but I had the things I really needed to help in my finding you."

"I suppose I over prepare for things, sometimes," said Hermione. "But I've found it's always best to try and think of the main things that might happen, where possible. It's something I've had to get used to the past few months."

"I'm glad you did in this case, anyway," said Ginny, taking a sip from her tea.

Another couple of minutes were filled with nothing but the sounds of bites into toast and swallowings of tea, with Hermione thinking some odd things again along with her admiration and respect for Ginny once more. She remembered Ginny had told her, that before she knew if she was alive or dead, she had dreamed about visiting her grave. Knowing how volatile and real their dreams had been since their arrival to World War Two, she had no idea how her friend had picked herself up and doggedly carried on to try and find her, with all that fear...and the possibility that it was only a body at the end of her search.

"Do you think this is it?" asked Ginny, as she finished her cup of tea.

"It?" asked Hermione.

"We did the swap and have the Ring, do you think, that once you're back to health again, that we're going back to Hogwarts?"

"I honestly don't know," said Hermione. "I'm hoping we'll be told why obtaining the Resurrection Stone Ring was so important, before we go back. But, we've done what was wanted, so I can't see why we need to hang on here much longer."

"I...I don't know how I feel about that," said Ginny. "I know we have to go back sometime...but..."

"But?"

"I don't feel like I've had a chance to breathe," said Ginny as she got up and took their trays of empties and set them onto the dressing table. "Everything was such a blur that last day or so at Hogwarts with the Battle; and since we got here, it's...it's just one thing after another. I knew it would be like that...to an extent. I don't know...I don't want to say I need a rest, or break, because no one else is getting that. I... I actually like being here with you and fending for ourselves. Oh...I don't know, I'm babbling now and not making any sense." She walked back and flopped down on the bed.

"I think you need rest, Ginny," said Hermione. "I sort of got some, from being put out with this inconvenient wounding incident, but you haven't had a break at all from the strain. It's been much worse for you. I've been used to the stress from the past few months with Harry and Ron...but you've been thrown in at the deep end."

"Exactly...you've been doing this sort of thing for months! I've experienced it for under a fortnight and I'm feeling 'stressed'?" Ginny shook her head, feeling slightly ashamed. "To even think about delaying our return, because I'm not sure I'm quite ready, makes me so angry. Did Harry think that, when he went to You Know Who...he didn't think 'I think I'll wait for a day or two until better weather'...he was tired, as were you and Ron, but it didn't stop you!"

"No, we went on," said Hermione in a soft voice. "But we all wanted it to stop...just to have a few hours where nobody was trying to find us, trick us, kill us or expect us to save everyone. We all have thoughts like that, Gin. Don't be angry with yourself." She put her hand across and got hold of Ginny's hand. "I'll soon be back to my usual self, and then I'll be there taking half the strain again. We started this together and we'll continue together."

With her eyes welling up with tears she refused to shed, Ginny turned and looked at Hermione, managed to smile and nodded at her. Hermione looked so determined, and there was so much genuine warmth in her eyes and smile.

_She looks amazing_, thought Ginny, _even with everything that's happened to her._ _It would be so easy to lean over and kiss her... What! No...think of something else. That is _not _how I want to repay her, by...by planting one on her and leaving us both to wonder what the hell is going on! _Ginny looked away again, and couldn't avoid yawning.

"I think we should get some sleep now," said Hermione. "I'm tired again and I know you are...Miss Yawnhead!"

"You're right...I just want to freshen up in the bathroom...or would you like to go first?" asked Ginny as she looked in Hermione's beaded bag for her preferred sleepwear. The long nightshirt she had borrowed from Dumbledore's house was usable but she was happy to go back to bottoms and a T'Shirt.

"No, you go ahead...I'm already dressed for bed, so I can wait," said Hermione. "Although I must say I'll be glad to get rid of these awful military dressings they gave me for my period. Bloody awful!"

Ginny gave a little chuckle. "I'm glad to say, I finished my own a couple of days before the Battle...so I should be okay for another couple of weeks...although, with all the stress, things haven't really been the same the past few months. I might be lucky enough to miss it entirely for a month or two."

"Well, if you get it, don't worry, I packed plenty of _thingies_ for my Ron and Harry excursion."

"That must have been...um...awkward?" asked Ginny, feeling a tad embarrassed about it all.

"At times it was, but magical tents have very good facilities and areas of privacy when needed. I don't usually get more than a couple of days each time, so I hope that hasn't changed. Anyway," said Hermione. "Go get ready for bed."

Watching Ginny, take her nightwear and leave the room for the bathroom, Hermione thought over some of the things they had just talked about. A thought struck her for the first time since the Battle of Hogwarts had begun; their ages.

_Ginny's not yet seventeen,_ Hermione thought, _I know I'm eighteen...but Ginny's sixteen. She's just been so incredible, it's not crossed my mind. I've never thought about her age much and that she was younger...once the DA began she was better than most of the older people at the meetings. She came to the Ministry with us when Voldemort wanted that prophecy and we thought he had Sirius...she's always been as able as witches much older than herself, and often much better than them. BUT...she's sixteen. _Hermione's conscience stepped in:

_**Which also means she's old enough to... **__don't even think that! Why do I have to think that, and now? _

_**Just getting the facts straight and being my usual prepared self. **__Stop it!_

In the bathroom, Ginny had changed into her T'Shirt and bottoms and was cleaning her teeth. It crossed her mind about being in the same bed as Hermione once more. _What if I have another one of _those_ dreams? That could be very embarrassing! Plus, she's not completely well yet, so I shouldn't be thinking of even accidentally doing or saying something._

The redhead rinsed her toothbrush, and looked at herself in the mirror above the wash basin and realized how tired she looked, and how much older as well. _You know,_ she thought, _what the hell. I'm going to stop worrying about it. If I do something strange in my sleep, I can't change it or stop it. Just stop worrying, I have enough to worry about without wondering if I'll grope Hermione in my sleep, or call her name out. Bugger it...just bugger it!_

Inclining her head to her reflection in the mirror, with a curt bow of acceptance, she folded up her clothes and walked back to the bedroom.

"All yours," said Ginny.

_Really?Are you?_ thought Hermione, wanting to laugh but only managing a "Huh?" in response.

Despite giving herself a talking to in the bathroom, about not worrying about her thoughts towards Hermione, Ginny realized what she had said and that Hermione either hadn't caught what she said, or had and wondered what she meant.

"The bathroom is all yours," said Ginny, as casually as possible. "Er, will you be okay getting there by yourself?"

"Yeah, I'll be fine, a little shuffle there and back will do me good," said Hermione with a grin.

"Well, call if you need anything," said Ginny. _Yeah, anything,_ she thought, then caught herself before she smirked. _Look, just because I've accepted my messed up thoughts doesn't mean I can run loose with them!_

Ginny got into bed, and looked in the bag Dumbledore had given her and pulled out the book on Muggle Seaside Towns, not wanting to settle down until Hermione was back.

Reading for quite a while, there were a couple more coastal towns that Ginny added to her list of places she must visit, not least some of the places around The Wash coastline in Norfolk and Lincolnshire. It was said the muggle King John lost his treasure in the strange tides there in the year 1216...maybe a witch could find what a muggle had lost. _Or maybe_, thought Ginny, _every witch and wizard has tried that and either found nothing, or found lots and hid it safely in a vault at Gringotts. _"Stupid thought!" said Ginny, outloud to herself.

"What is?" asked Hermione as she walked into the bedroom again, wondering what Ginny was thinking about.

"Looking for that muggle King John's lost treasure in The Wash," said Ginny.

"That's not what I was expecting?" said an amused Hermione. "Is that just a random thing or something you've thought on for a long time?"

"I was just reading this book," said Ginny, holding up the book. "It was in Dumbledore's study and I took it with me when I left to look for you. I knew I'd need something to read at some point."

Hermione got into bed next to her friend and looked at the book. "Oo, that's interesting," she said. "I always love reading the magical world's take on the muggle world."

"I'll leave it out on the side; you can have a read when you want," said Ginny, taking the book back and placing it on the bedside cabinet. "So, are you ready to sleep now?"

"Yes, I think so," Hermione said as she picked up her wand and dimmed the lights in the room to a cosy glow. She looked at her wand again, and how it felt in her hand. "Thanks again, Ginny."

"Hmm?"

"For my wand," said Hermione. "We would have had to go back to look for it, or managed without it."

"I didn't think about it the first time I went to the area where you'd been," said Ginny. "It came to me later. Of course I assumed that Harry would have thought of it the first time around...oh well, I did eventually think of it."

"Don't be hard on yourself," said Hermione, sliding down the bed and pulling the covers up, Ginny copying her. "I would bet that most of the DA wouldn't have thought about it at all, and maybe not even some of the Order."

Ginny didn't answer, but silently basked in the praise and didn't feel so badly about what she had thought was a little slow of her at the time. After a short silence Hermione gave a little sigh of annoyance as she was jiffling to settle.

"Something wrong?" asked Ginny.

"Not really," replied the brunette. "I wanted to lie on my side, but it pulled on my wounds just trying to shift slightly. I can sleep on my back, no big deal."

"Do you want to try some dittany, now?"

"As much as I'd like to, I think I'll wait until Dumbledore visits. I'm not sure how the magical and muggle worlds will meet on this kind of thing."

"I have some pain potion for my hand," offered Ginny. "Perhaps if you dab a little on the area where it hurts, it will help?"

"I'll be all right," said Hermione. "I wasn't too keen on the injections they gave me for pain relief on that army base, makes the brain a bit groggy. I can deal with it, I've had worse."

"You have?"

"Yeah," Hermione said quietly and for a moment or two Ginny didn't think her friend would say anymore. "Bellatrix."

"Lestrange?"

"The one and only," said Hermione. "She...she used the _cruciatus_ curse on me, when we were captives at the Malfoy's."

"She what?" said Ginny in shock, as she turned on her side to face her friend.

"I think any pain after that is manageable."

"I...I don't know what to say," said Ginny, wishing she could think of something less slow-witted to say.

"There's nothing to say, really," said Hermione. "She did it to me, I didn't break, which made her more maniacal than usual, then thankfully we were rescued, although at the cost of Dobby's life. Fleur helped me a lot."

"Phlegm?"

"She's not that bad," said Hermione with a chuckle. "She couldn't have been nicer or kinder to me, and she accepted having her house full of fugitives with hardly a complaint. And that included having a grumpy old goblin there too!"

"Maybe Bill is rubbing off on her a little?" wondered Ginny out loud.

Hermione gave a snort of laughter. "Well, they _are_ married so I expect he does!"

Ginny went bright red, realizing what she had said, but had to laugh too. "I soo don't want to be thinking of my brother like that!" she giggled. "Urgh!"

"So in that case, you don't really want to know if Ron and I ever rubbed off on each other?"

"You haven't yet, have you?" asked Ginny, her head shooting up, a subconscious part of her hoping and willing that it had only been kisses and minimal groping, and that Hermione had told the truth about nothing happening on her travels with the boys in the tent.

"No, you know we haven't. A couple of kisses and holding hands...that's all," Hermione said, smiling, taking in the look of distaste from her friend. _I'm not sure I'd want to know about my brothers' love life either...if I had a brother, that is,_ she thought. _Come to think of it, I'm not sure I'd want to know more details about what Ginny and Harry ever did. Her dreams were one thing...but actual actions...no!_

_**Jealous?**_ asked Hermione's conscience. _No! _

_**Just a little? **__Nooo...well possibly, maybe...I don't know!_

"It's none of my business, is it?" said Ginny. "Sorry...but brothers," she quickly thought to cover up what she knew had been an almost horrifed response. "_My_ brothers...ew!"

"Point taken," said Hermione. "Anyway, let's try and get some sleep."

"Night, Hermione," said Ginny, closing her eyes as she rolled back the other way and found a comfortable position on her other side.

"Night," replied Hermione. "And Ginny?"

"Hmm?"

"If you have bad dreams, don't worry. You're not alone anymore, I'm here again."

"Thanks," Ginny almost whispered, as she was surprised to find that tears had come to her eyes again. She was thankful Hermione couldn't see her face.

And Ginny wasn't alone, as she entered a dream once sleep claimed her..._zzzzzzz_

She saw she was at Hogwarts again, or her dream's representation of Hogwarts. Sitting on a bench in what looked like the courtyard near the Transfiguration classroom, Ginny looked around her and saw that there were several people wandering around; a normal school day.

_Looks like I'll have to settle for some boring bench-sitting and people-watching_, Ginny thought as she dreamed. Looking down she noticed some ants, and not wanting them to crawl up her leg, she kicked at the dusty earth and the ants scattered in all directions away from her.

"Hello, Ginny," said a familiar voice.

Ginny looked up, and saw who it was. "Harry?"

"What are you doing here?" he asked.

"Nothing much," she replied, and noted that this Harry looked alive, at least. "What are _you_ doing here?"

"I was looking for you," Harry said, as he sat next to her.

"Any particular reason?"

"Just to remind you about something," he said.

"What? Have I forgotten something?"

"No," he said. "Not forgotten, exactly."

"You're not going to go all cryptic on me, are you?" she sighed. "I haven't the energy for all that kind of thing at the moment."

"Instincts," said Harry. "Always trust your instincts."

"Is that it?" asked an unimpressed Ginny.

"Well...yes, for the moment."

"Thank you Professor Potter!" said Ginny, wanting to laugh. "I must say this is an improvement on the dead you, clawing out at me."

"The dead me?" he asked, looking confused.

"Yeah, rotting flesh, yucky everything," answered Ginny.

"I don't know what you're talking about?"

"Nevermind," she replied. _This Harry has no sense of humour_, Ginny thought as she dreamed.

"Ginny, if I asked you something, would you tell me your first honest response to it?"

"Depends what it is?" she inquired.

"Something possibly life-changing," Harry said, turning on the bench towards her. "If everything were different and there was no battle coming, could you see yourself marrying me?"

"WHAT?" Ginny exclaimed. _Harry, I'm sixteen years old...yes it's legal, but you're off your trolley if you think I'd know the answer right now!_ she thought.

"It's really simple...if things were all normal with our lives, would you, or have you ever considered being married to me? Your first response please, and be honest."

"All right then; right now at this moment in time, the answer is 'no'," she replied.

"Why?"

"Why?" she repeated. "We're too young to be thinking of that kind of thing for a start!"

"But, when we spent all those afternoons tucked away...just the two of us together," Harry couldn't look at her then, but carried on, "Didn't you ever have a dreamy thought of us marrying and living together? Maybe having children?"

"CHILDREN?" she almost choked. "Bloody hell, first you want to know about marriage and next we're already onto breeding?"

"It's a normal question," Harry almost mumbled. "I've thought about it...about us together. Being a proper family."

"Obviously," said Ginny, then she felt a little bad about her reactions. "Look Harry, I'm just not in a place where I can think of that now. It all seems so far away and I'm not sure I'm ready to even think about it."

"And that's your instinctive answer?"

"Yes," Ginny answered, while she thought, _he's dead, what is the point of this? Unless it's just to make me miserable again about the fact he's gone and any possibilities have gone with him? Great!_

The dream-Ginny looked down again hoping she would wake up or the dream would change, because she was feeling guilty about her responses to Harry, and beginning to feel uncomfortable.

"Ginny," Harry said. "Look up, and tell me what you see ahead of you."

With a glance at Harry first, Ginny looked up and saw a wall about twenty yards away that wasn't there before, with two wooden doors. "A wall and two doors," she said. "Is that what I'm supposed to see?"

"Yes. Now, if I told you that the right door held a choice of a very normal, ordinary and contented life, and the left door held many big obstacles and difficulties, but would give you the opportunity of immense happiness, _if_ you could find it...which door would you choose?" asked Harry.

"Well the right one seems the easiest...but does that just mean boredom?" Ginny considered. "Having said that, I could do with some boredom after recent times." _Yes, I'm right about that,_ she thought..._although..._

Harry smiled, "So, you would take the door on the right?"

"I haven't decided yet...," said Ginny. "The left door...it sounds like lots of trials and tribulations, but happiness at the end of it? If you have to fight for something and then feel happy afterwards it makes it all feel more worthwhile...or so I've heard or read." _Look, it's a dream,_ she thought, _the normal door and probable boredom sounds good but this dream is already boring. The other door could be a nightmare of the worst kind, but it _is _only a dream...and it might be something I could hit a lot and feel really rather good about._

"What's your answer?" asked Harry. "Right or left?"

_Go for it!_ she willed to her dream-self. "I'll take the left door."

"The left?" Harry sounded surprised. "Really?"

"Why not? I'm ready for anything!"

"That's what I've always loved about you," said Harry a little sadly. "You make your own choices, whatever the circumstances and are determined to see things through."

"So, is that it?" asked Ginny.

"No. You chose the door on the left, and that is the one you have to go through now."

Ginny looked at Harry, and felt a pull of sadness and regret. _Come on, it's a dream,_ she thought, _let's see what's behind this door. It might be something I can punch to a pulp, like a Death Eater, or a Slytherin quidditch player, and that _would _give me immense happiness at the end of it!_

The dream-Ginny stood up and with a last glance at Harry, who was sitting like a stone statue on the bench, staring at his feet, she walked towards the door she had chosen and turned the doorknob. Bracing herself for something that might attack her, she walked through and was deeply surprised. The redhead had not expected to walk into her own bedroom and find sitting at her desk, Hermione.

"Hermione?" she said. _Are we going to fight something together?_ she thought. _Yeah, that's it. We're planning something together...probably all mixed up with the real plans we've had to carry out lately._

Her friend looked at her and gave her a beaming smile, putting her quill down and standing up. "Ginny, I wondered when you'd get here."

"I'm here now, so what's happening?" Ginny asked.

"Happening?" asked Hermione, who then suddenly put her arms around Ginny's neck, leaned into her and said in a whisper, "That's really up to you?" before she pressed her lips to Ginny's.

_What?_ she thought. _Not again! That doesn't make any sense with anything I said with Harry._ Her dream-self was responding very passionately to Hermione's lips now. _Oh for Merlin's sake, will you quit it! Wake up! Will you bloody wake up!...zzzzzzz_

Ginny awoke, and took a sharp intake of breath, almost making herself cough. She was aware that Hermione stirred next to her. _Shit, I've woken her up_, she thought.

"Bad dream?" asked Hermione sleepily.

"No...not really," mumbled Ginny.

Hermione reached over and got hold of Ginny's hand, and felt her wrist. "Hmm, your heart is racing. If it was a bad dream, you can tell me? My body might be a little crappy for now, but my mind is still working," she said.

"Not bad," said Ginny, trying to find a way to wriggle out of it. "A little disturbing. Er...I...I saw Harry. He was normal, not dead...he just talked with me and said some strange things, which I didn't understand then, and still don't now I'm awake."

"It can't be nice seeing him so much when you dream?" inquired Hermione. "Whatever form he takes."

"No...it's weird," said Ginny. "Anyway, I'm sorry I woke you up...I'm always doing that aren't I?"

"Don't worry about it," said Hermione, as she gave a little yawn.

"Go back to sleep," said Ginny. "I'm all right. Hopefully that's the only weird dream for me tonight."

"I hope you sleep better."

"You too," said Ginny settling back and closing her eyes, her heart beating at a normal rate again.

"Ginny?"

"Yes."

"Do you need a hug or to...snuggle?"

"No!" said Ginny, who was immediately mortified that it came out in a high squeak, causing her to cough to cover up her strange tone. _Snuggle with Hermione?_ she thought, _after that dream? Too risky!_ "No, I'll be fine," she said. "I wouldn't want to lean all over you and risk hurting you anyway...thanks for offering though."

"I'm here if you need me," said Hermione sleepily.

"Sleep well." _Merlin's pants this is getting tricky,_ Ginny thought, _how can I be having these dreams and what I think are actual feelings for her? Is it what I've thought before and just because Harry's dead and I've been under stress? I've been here with her for less than a fortnight, I just don't know where all of this is coming from? I'm more confused now than ever. _


	35. Astonished

**A/N: I'm sure some of you hate the dream sequences, some of you might love them. The dream in this chapter was very entertaining to write and it's almost worthy of a strange 'one-shot'.**

**I use dreams because every action in this story happens over only a few days, so to present the feeling of bizarre and unique circumstances and life flashing by with all the dangers, it's a good way to show how the characters are thinking and how that's changed so fast.**

35: Astonished

_Poor Ginny_, thought Hermione as she settled again to get back to sleep. _She's really been having the worst dreams out of the two of us. _For some reason her conscience stirred to converse with herself.

_**You're disappointed she didn't want a hug or snuggle, aren't you? **__No, that's entirely up to her, if she needs it. _

_**You wish she'd said she needed you, though? **__...no...maybe. _

_**Ahhh! **__I might have found it nice to have some contact...after everything I've been through. _

_**That sounds so ridiculously pathetic! You wanted to have contact for other reasons didn't you? **__What other reasons? NO! Not that reason. _

_**Not even a little bit? **__It won't do either of us any good right now. _

_**Uh huh? **__It won't. _

_**Okay. **__Just stop thinking about it! _

Hermione entered a dream of her own, which was surprising to her initially, thinking she was too tired and groggy to allow dreams to happen..._zzzzzzz_

The brunette immediately recognized the Great Hall at Hogwarts, and it was just how she remembered it before everything had begun to change. It looked vibrant and warm, and had the distinct look of the place when Dumbledore was still there.

Looking around, Hermione saw that it was only older students in the Hall. Everyone looked as they did in her sixth year. _Probably because that's the last time I was at school properly_, she thought. She was sitting at the Gryffindor table, next to Ron; she couldn't see Harry, but Ginny was there opposite her, as was Dean, Seamus, Neville and the usual people.

On closer inspection Hermione couldn't see anyone younger than Ginny and Luna's yeargroup_. Perhaps we're having a special lesson, suitable for older students only?_ she wondered.

Dumbledore seemed to just appear at the teacher's table, with Professor McGonagall at his side. It was the older Dumbledore present, the one Hermione knew best.

"Quiet please!" said McGonagall, and the Hall fell silent.

"Some of you may know why you've been called here," said Dumbledore. "Others won't. Before we confirm or deny the rumours you have heard, I want to make it clear that this is for the good of the magical world. To ensure that whatever happens there are people to follow on."

"What's he going to do? Give us a crash course on being an auror?" asked Seamus in a hushed whisper.

"Ah, Mr. Finnigan!" said Dumbledore, who obviously had superhuman hearing. "If only it could be that simple. Alas that can not be done...besides which, your membership of Dumbledore's Army has given you nearly enough skills on that account already." Seamus had gone a little red in the face and didn't add any other comments.

"We will do what we can _only_ do at this time, and that is to put you into pairs," said the Headmaster. "Pairs with no prejudice of whether you are pureblood or halfblood or muggle-born."

_Pairs?_ thought Hermione, _why pairs? Are we going to patrol the grounds? _

"Those who wish to choose or are already...well, in a pair," chuckled Dumbledore. "...may keep in that pairing or choose for themselves. For others we can put your name into the Contract Goblet and a partner will be found for you. Some may be left out with no pairing, but do not despair you can be equally useful in other ways."

_What the heck is the Contract Goblet?_ thought Hermione as she dreamed.

"Now, before we go ahead," said Dumbledore. "You must know that we do not have any prejudice against same-sex pairings, but with our very great need we cannot accomodate those of that inclination...you may be lucky enough to be left with no partner. Of course, what you decide to do once paired is entirely your business, we only need you to continue the lines, nothing more. You do not even have to like the person you end up with."

_Wait a moment_, thought Hermione, _this is sounding a little weird._

"With that piece of information out of the way, it is now time for you to choose or let the Goblet choose your partner. Once paired off, you'll each be called to the Trophy Room and a marriage contract will be signed."

_WHAT?_ Hermione thought, _this dream is bizarre! I bet Ron would never complain about double potions lessons again if he had to take part in this pantomime for real!_ Hermione wanted to laugh in her sleep at how ridiculous her dream was.

"So, Hermione," said Ron next to her. "We're together, aren't we? So we can stay together, right?"

"Yes, all right," said Hermione. _Yeah, I'd better stay with you, I'd pity the poor girl to draw you out of the Goblet, _Hermione thought amused.

"Great," said Ron, who then nervously slid his hand along the table to reach one of hers.

Hermione was so entertained by this concept in her dream that quickly getting her acceptance to Ron out of the way, allowed her to view other pairings.

In a very bold and not entirely surprising move, Luna walked over from the Ravenclaw table and tapped Neville on the shoulder. "I'm fine with you if you're fine with me?" said the blonde girl without a hint of embarrassment.

Neville looked like he wanted the ground to swallow him up and hide his bright red face, but he turned to look at her and nodded, which made Luna smile. "See?" she said. "Easier than looking for a Crumple-Horned Snorkack!"

It appeared that all of the students in the Great Hall were preferring to choose their partners rather than let the Goblet decide for them. The Slytherins didn't mix, and paired off with themselves, of which they seemed thankful that there were exactly the same number of girls to boys, which made the rest of the Hall thankful too, that anyone left over wouldn't be pushed together with a Slytherin.

Hermione was aware that time shifted a little in her dream as various people from different tables shuffled about, talking to one another. It was then she thought about Ginny.

_I wonder if she ended up with Dean?_ thought Hermione, _as I can't see Harry here. _She turned back to the Gryffindor table and saw Ginny hadn't moved. The red-haired girl was resting her head on her crossed arms on the table, looking thoroughly dejected. Hermione got up and walked round the table to her

"Ginny?" Hermione said to her. Ginny looked up. "Have you got Dean?"

Ginny shook her head and pointed to Dean who was talking to a Hufflepuff girl from the Seventh Year at the next table.

"Who did you get then?" asked Hermione.

Shrugging her shoulders, Ginny said. "No one."

"Hasn't anyone come over to you?" asked Hermione, unsettled by that thought.

"Does it look like it?" said the redhead. "I'm stained goods."

"You're _what_?" asked Hermione, shocked.

"My boyfriend died, I'm bad luck. Besides, no one wants Harry's leftovers," Ginny said, her voice close to breaking.

"Don't talk like that," said Hermione. "It's not what people think. I've never heard that said by anyone."

"Maybe you weren't listening or around when it was said," offered Ginny. "Mum will be ashamed that I'm left out."

"You might get someone in the Goblet," suggested Hermione, although her real self dreaming it was astounded by the idea.

"Haven't you seen?" asked Ginny, waving an arm. "There's no one left...everyone has someone...except me."

"Well, that could be a bonus," said Hermione. "From what I can tell, they want us in these pairs to...," she whispered. "...to produce magical children." _Oh god! This dream gets better and better,_ Hermione thought as she dreamed it, wanting to laugh out loud, and wondering if she was chortling in her sleep.

"Yeah, and I'll be alone. I have no one. While you're all off _doing_ things, I'll be stuck with my homework. You have no idea how alone I feel!" The redhead got up and stormed out of the Hall.

The dream blurred and Hermione found herself alone and walking up the stairs to the girls' dormitories. It didn't quite look like she remembered, but that was dreams for you. She knocked on a door and walked in, and at first she thought there was no one in the room, until she heard a sniffle.

"Ginny?" _Oh, I see_, Hermione thought as she dreamed it, _I'm looking for her after she left the Hall. _

"I told you, I'm alone. I want to be left ALONE!" Ginny shouted and flung a spell at the dormitory door, so it banged and locked shut with a loud _boom_.

"Ginny, I'm so sorry about what happened, really I am," said Hermione, thankfully inside the room and not left outside. _Tell her it's a dream, _she tried to push through to her dream-self."None of this is real, it's all rubbish."

"What are you talking about?"

Hermione walked to Ginny's bed and sat next to her and could see her friend had been crying; her face flushed and her eyes red. "This is a daft dream of my making," she said.

"So you're to blame for leaving me with no one?" asked Ginny. "Couldn't you have dreamed me Harry or someone else to have, instead of that humiliation back there?"

"I didn't think of that," said Hermione.

"Why did you leave me with no one?"

"I don't know...I wasn't aware it was me in charge."

"You're not aware of a lot of things," said Ginny in a flat, almost chilling voice. "What if I didn't even want Harry?"

"I'm confused...one minute you're angry with me for not giving you Harry, and now you're saying you don't want him?"

"Why did you have to make this dream of yours have no...possibilities?" asked Ginny, looking nervous for some reason, and not looking at Hermione when she spoke.

"No possibilities? I don't understand?" asked Hermione. _Nice one Hermione_, she thought as she dreamed, _you're acting as thick as two short planks!_

Ginny turned more towards her. "Possibilities for choice of partner," said the redhead. "Why couldn't two boys be together or two girls?"

_OH_, thought Hermione wearily in her sleep, _if I'm not mistaken, here we go again! _"There wouldn't be many magical children produced from that," said Hermione

"It's your dream, you could make that possible...," said Ginny tailing off.

"So," said Hermione, with a sigh, which had been passed through to her from her sleeping self. "Are you saying _you_ want a girl partner?"

Ginny nodded. _Here we go_, thought Hermione, _stop dreaming before it happens...although...what harm is there in dreams?_ she wondered.

"Do I know her?" asked Hermione, ashamed to admit she was almost bubbling with anticipation, knowing what was to come.

"Yes," said Ginny. "It's...it's..,"

"You can tell me," Hermione said, almost eager, waiting for Ginny to name herself.

"It's Susan Bones."

"Susan Bones?" said a shocked Hermione, who detected no hint of a lie from Ginny. "SUSAN BONES?" she nearly screeched.

"If you were going to take it like that, I wouldn't have told you," said Ginny.

"Susan bloody Bones?" Hermione almost choked. "This is _my_ dream! MY DREAM! You're supposed to say it's me!"

"I _am_?" Ginny's eyebrows were raised. "But you have Ron."

"Yes, well, I don't want him really, do I?" spluttered a confused Hermione, with her real self dreaming it, feeling just as bewildered. "He's just a habit I got into. I'm interested in you really."

"You are?"

"Yes."

"Prove it!" said Ginny.

"Right, I bloody well will," said Hermione, as she turned to Ginny and kissed her, putting a hand to her cheek as she deepened the kiss.

_Oh for the love of owls, just stop it...please?_ thought the confused, battered, amused and weary Hermione dreaming it. _Wake up you stupid woman! NOW!...zzzzzzz_

Hermione choked back what she could have sworn was a moan, as she woke up. _Shit!_ she thought, _kissing-Ginny-dreams again! My goodness, I was really bothered that she wanted Susan Bones instead of me! Since when was Ron a 'habit'? Admittedly he's not always good for me, but that's a bit harsh. Why do I keep dreaming this type of thing? It's...it's not right._

"Everything all right, Hermione?" asked Ginny, who turned over to face her.

"Yeah...weird dream."

"Nightmare?"

"Not really," said Hermione. "Just bizarre."

"How?" asked an interested Ginny.

_I can tell her some of it,_ thought Hermione, _it might make her laugh even. _"I dreamed that everyone from your year upwards were in the Great Hall and Dumbledore wanted us to pair off. We could choose or let some strange thing he called a Contract Goblet decide."

"A what Goblet?"

"Contract Goblet," said Hermione. "It's all dream nonsense. Anyway they wanted us to pair off to basically produce more magical children for the good of the magical world."

Ginny laughed. "That's a new curriculum I doubt we'll see...although You Know Who might like a pureblood breeding programme!"

"Yeah," laughed Hermione. "Anyway I ended up with Ron, Luna had Neville, which was all funny to watch."

"Who did I get?"

"Errr...well, Harry wasn't there, but..."

"Oh god, I didn't get Malfoy, did I?" Ginny asked in mock shock.

"No, the Slytherins all kept to themselves."

"We always did think they were a bunch of inbreds!"

Hermione laughed again. "You didn't have anyone."

"No one asked me? Wonderful!" said a sarcastically amused Ginny.

"No, but you got the hump and left the Hall. And I went to look for you, and found you in the dormitories...," said Hermione, immediately thinking about the kiss again and trying not to blurt out that bit. _Concentrate_, she thought, _don't slip up._

"And?" asked Ginny.

"And, I told you it was a stupid dream, then you asked me why I had to have any rules because you would have liked a particular partner."

"Who?"

"Brace yourself," said Hermione. _I wonder how she'll take this, _she thought. "Susan Bones."

"Susan Bones?" Ginny repeated, not expecting that. "What the hell was I thinking?" she laughed a deep throaty laugh.

_Interesting_, thought Hermione, _she wasn't disgusted by the fact it was a girl, just astonished by which one. I wonder what she would have thought had she known I was unhappy she hadn't named me._

_Interesting, _thought Ginny,_ she wasn't disgusted by the fact it was a girl, just astonished by which one. I wonder what she would have thought had the me in her dream named herself?_

"Anyway it all ended in a blur of me saying that I only chose Ron because he was a habit I had," said Hermione shaking her head.

"Hmm, Ron _is_ right up there with picking-noses in the habit stakes," said Ginny with a laugh.

"What ridiculous dreams we keep having though, don't we?" said Hermione, rather pleased with herself at dodging what had happened at the end of the dream. "Although I think you've had by far the worst, Ginny."

"They haven't been a barrel of laughs."

"What time is it?"

Ginny popped her head up to look at the clock on the dressing table. "It's nearly 5.30," she said.

"Oh, a bit more sleeping time, then," said Hermione, suppressing a yawn.

Without many more words the two women drifted off to sleep again. No bad or confusing dreams touched either of them now. Ginny only dreamed of a broomstick that kept going wrong and it irritated her a great deal. Hermione for some reason dreamed she was driving a tractor to go shopping at a supermarket.

When morning arrived, it didn't have the potential problems for Ginny and Hermione as might otherwise have been. In the safety of the house in Godric's Hollow, performing magic wasn't a problem, and Hermione was able to dress and undress herself in the bathroom that way. It was just as well, because Ginny had been lingering on the thought of doing up Hermione's bra again; a thought she didn't know she had even stored in her mind that clearly, until the morning arrived.

They enjoyed a good breakfast, courtesy of a fresh delivery from the Hogwarts Elves. Bacon, eggs and toast with pumpkin juice and a pot of tea.

Hermione had a look at the study and was impressed with Ginny's tidying up and cleaning skills. Like a moth drawn to a flame, Hermione was drawn to some of the books and sat at the desk reading. Ginny joined her, enjoying the company even though they didn't say that much. Once or twice they read something out to the other from a book or got the other to read something.

Lunch arrived fast, and they settled for some of a roast chicken the Elves had brought that morning, with potatoes and vegetables.

"I could get used to this," said Ginny. "Good food, a nice house and good company."

Hermione smiled. "Yeah, it _is_ nice. It's been so much more than a place of safety. It's Dumbledore's house for a start...but I don't know, I just feel at home here."

"I suppose, that's until we remember that outside the door it's 1943 and we're fifty-five years away from where we should be," said Ginny in a slightly down tone.

"And with that thought comes all the complications and realities," sighed Hermione.

"First things first," said Ginny, trying hard not to dwell on their impending certainty of having to go back to Hogwarts and the Battle there. "Hopefully Dumbledore can help you to recover faster."

"Yes that would be nice...if only to sleep on my side," said Hermione smiling.

In the afternoon they went back to the study and the books. Reading seemed to be the one activity that used up large amounts of time without being aware of it. And that was exactly what happened, apart from Ginny making another pot of tea in the middle of the afternoon. She didn't look at a clock, but as she set down a mug for Hermione and herself and sat down again they were both surprised.

"There wouldn't be another cup for an old wizard, would there?"

Both women jumped, but knew immediately that it was Dumbledore. "Hello sir," said Hermione.

"I'll just go and get you a tea," said Ginny, passing Dumbledore in the doorway to go back to the kitchen.

"Hermione," said Dumbledore. "I can't express how good it is to see you; alive, even if you're not completely well yet."

"I'm glad to be back," said Hermione, and with Ginny out of the room she added, "Ginny was amazing. I don't know how she dealt with everything she did. I owe her so much."

"Yes, she is a very resourceful young woman and a rather good witch, isn't she?" said the Professor with a warm smile. "I had the utmost faith in her. If she believed in herself more, she would be even more talented than she is already." After a short silence he said, "Well, shall we go through to the sitting room as usual?"

Hermione got up and followed the wizard through, not long after followed by Ginny bringing Dumbledore his cup of tea.

Once all seated and with customary sips of tea taken, Dumbledore looked at both young women in admiration. "Now, let us get down to business. Firstly you have the Ring?"

"Yes," said Hermione. "Do you need to see it? It's upstairs, I can summon it down."

"No, that's all right," said Dumbledore. "I don't need to see it, and perhaps...perhaps it is best that I don't."

"Ah, yes...I suppose this means you'll eventually be handling the fake one again...I mean in the future?" said Ginny.

"Yes," replied Dumbledore. "I would rather not talk too much on that subject. The main thing is, you have the Hallow. So the next thing to ask is what happened to you, Hermione?"

Hermione told Dumbledore everything that had happened to her the moment Ginny had Disapparated. And once John Massey's name was mentioned Dumbledore's facial expression changed to something close to a frown.

"That _is_ news," he said. "I can't say I've heard of the man. It seems he didn't pass through Hogwarts from what he said. I suppose he could have another name...maybe. Hmm, that's troubling."

"He went missing the same day," said Ginny, who then went on to tell Dumbledore about what she had heard from Lottie at the White Hart.

"I wonder...," said Dumbledore in a vague way.

"What, sir?" asked Hermione, eager to know what the wizard was thinking.

"Just thoughts of course, but Tom has never been very forgiving of fellow school students. Even at this age I can't imagine he's any better with people working for him, especially as Massey let you slip through his fingers," said Dumbledore.

"You think You Know Who has murdered Massey?" asked Hermione.

"Maybe not yet, and maybe not murdered. But it's possible that Massey has gone to Hogsmeade and Tom will meet with him this very weekend; possibly yesterday. Of course there's nothing I can do about that," sighed the Professor. "Unfortunately it means that, perhaps, something will happen that was not meant to. However, we can do nothing about that. I know that Tom murders many people in his time, and Massey will just have to be added to that list of possible victims."

"Lottie seemed to think the rumour was Massey had gone off with a woman," said Ginny.

"All the better if that notion is kept up as the most likely answer." Dumbledore seemed to be staring off in deep thought. "Anyway," he said suddenly. "How are you, Hermione?"

"Better than I was. If it hadn't been for those two American soldiers, and then Ginny getting me off that base I don't think I'd be here. I'm quite sore where I was wounded. We thought about using dittany but weren't sure about the wounds and what the army surgeon had done," said Hermione.

Dumbledore stood up and walked over to Hermione. "Stay nice and relaxed," he said softly, as he drew his wand and hovered it over her for several minutes. "I see."

"What sir?" asked Hermione, unable to conceal all of her concern.

"You had those pieces of wood removed marvellously," Dumbledore said. "Muggle doctors can be very good."

"Sir, can you help me get better a bit faster, though?" asked Hermione, hopefully.

"Of course I can," he said. From a pouch in his robes he produced a potion bottle. "Drink two tablespoons of this diluted in a glass of water. Use some dittany on the actual wounds. You will feel very tired to begin with, but in a day or two you will feel nearly like your old self." He turned to Ginny. "If you want the broken bone in your hand to heal faster, take half a teaspoon of the potion in a glass of water. It shouldn't make you tired at all, but will heal the bone." He produced another bottle. "I wasn't sure how much dittany you had, so have brought you some."

"Thank you, Professor," said Hermione. "I've been fairly tired anyway, so I'm not sure I'll notice the difference."

"Professor?" Ginny said, having observed and heard the good news on Hermione's health and the added bonus of getting her own hand to heal faster. "When those couple of days have passed, or when Hermione's better, do we leave to go back to Hogwarts? I mean _our _Hogwarts? What do we do with the Ring?"

Dumbledore sat down. "Naturally, you have many questions, and I'm sorry to say I can not answer them all here."

"But we go back to Hogwarts?" asked Hermione.

Dumbledore steepled his fingers in front of him, as he sat back. "No, you won't be going back to Hogwarts yet," he said slowly and calmly.

"Well, where are we going? Are we staying here?" asked Ginny.

"When Hermione is well, you need to move on to 1945."

"1945?" Hermione said surprised, then looked at an equally surprised Ginny.


	36. Potions

**A/N: This chapter just lifts the 'awkward' factor a bit further. ;) The kind of thing where half of you wants to close one eye and be somewhere else to escape the situation, but the other half almost enjoys it. **

36: Potions

Hermione looked at Ginny and the redhead looked back, both of them surprised by Dumbledore's answer, which had provoked them to have a thousand thoughts racing through their minds.

"1945?" asked Hermione. "Where? Why?"

"I can answer 'where'," said Dumbledore in a measured tone. "You will start again from the churchyard in the village, here. I can not, however, tell you why you're moving on a couple of years."

"Will we have something else to find? Can you tell us that?" asked Hermione.

"You will have another task. I can not tell you here and now, however," said Dumbledore, and seeing the frowns on both of the women's faces. "I can not tell you, because the me here doesn't precisely know. The me in 1945 will know."

The room fell quiet again for a few moments. Hermione had lots of questions in her mind and was trying to process what she wanted to know or what she thought she might get an answer to.

"Why can't we just use the Time-Turner now and be sitting here in 1945, straight away, instead of going from the churchyard again?" asked Ginny.

"My house, as you know, has wardings on it, and it would likely be dangerous to just appear here," said Dumbledore patiently. "As so few people have the ability to do what you two can, I can not know how you might be affected in crossing a warding through time. It is much safer for you to make your way through the village again. It will be at night, once more, so you are less likely to be seen."

"So we meet with you again in 1945?" asked Ginny. Dumbledore nodded. "Will the you then, remember us from now?"

"That's an interesting question," smiled Dumbledore. "Yes, I will remember and know you."

Hermione resigned herself to the fact, that the questions she had, probably couldn't be answered by the Dumbledore before her now, so she decided to be practical. "What date do we need to move to? What day or month of 1945?" she asked.

"It was decided that if you got this far we would like you to go to 1st May," replied Dumbledore, as though he was discussing potion ingredients, and not time travel. "That's a Monday."

"So we arrive at night on 1st May?" said Hermione, making sure they had the exact timing correct.

"Yes, that's right," said Dumbledore. "Perhaps around eleven o'clock at night, would be best."

"Then we make our way to this house again, and contact you?" asked Ginny.

"Yes," nodded the Professor. "I will be able to tell you more, then."

"We won't see you again, once you leave today?" wondered Hermione. "I mean, not here in 1943?"

"Unless you have an emergency, or need my help urgently in some way, you won't see me again until you...well, move on," he gave a small smile. "Which is what I must do now," he said, making to stand up.

"We move on in two days, then?" asked Ginny.

"Or when Hermione feels well enough," he said. "There's really no great rush, your arrival day isn't going anywhere."

"Do we keep the uniforms? Or become something else?" Hermione asked.

"You will keep your WAAF identities, and the uniforms for now. It's simpler for the moment," replied the wizard.

Hermione and Ginny weren't sure how they felt about continuing to be WAAFs. They couldn't go anywhere near Great or Little Hangleton anymore with those identities, that was for sure.

Dumbledore walked through to the kitchen with Hermione and Ginny following. He extended a hand to each of them, and after shaking hands he smiled at them both warmly. "I'm so very proud of your both," he said. "You will see me sooner than I will see you. Until then, farewell."

With a wave back at them, Dumbledore walked out of the kitchen, through the scullery and Disapparated from the garden, back to Hogwarts. Hermione sat on a chair in the kitchen and Ginny sat on another, both a little unsure of themselves and about everything and anything.

"1945 eh?" said Ginny.

"I wasn't expecting that," said Hermione.

"What happens in 1945?"

"The only thing off the top of my head, is that Dumbledore fought Grindlewald that year," said Hermione, rubbing her forehead in thought. "Which is when he won himself the Elder Wand, the Hallow."

"What can we be involved with, regarding that?"

"Nothing, as far as I can see," said Hermione wearily. "That was a huge event, even with no one knowing the exact connotations to come from it with the Wand. I don't see how we could be involved with that at all. Besides the fact Grindlewald was as powerful as Dumbledore."

"I suppose it's another case of finding out when we get there," said Ginny, sounding rather down.

"Well, we'll have a couple of days before all that," said Hermione brightly, sensing the tiredness of her friend. "We don't have to think about it until then. There's nothing we _can _think about, because we don't know anything about it. Let's just try to relax a little."

"When are you going to take the potion?" Ginny asked.

"I think I'll take it this evening. I'll have an early night...I might...I...," Hermione stopped saying what she was going to say.

"What?" asked Ginny. "You might what?"

"I...I might need some help," said Hermione.

"All you have to do is ask, I'll try to help if I can."

"I might need some help with the...using the dittany," said Hermione, trying hard to stop the blush which was threatening to creep to her cheeks. "As I won't really be able to see properly looking down at myself."

Ginny nodded. "No problem." _Oh Merlin!_ she thought, _that means Hermione's chest again, Hermione's naked chest...shit!_

"I just feel a bit awkward about it," said Hermione, who could feel her cheeks warming and thought she had better try to explain it. "It's not something you normally ask a friend to do. It's a bit embarrassing for both of us."

_Embarrassing? yes,_ thought Ginny, _but not necessarily for the reasons Hermione thinks_. "There's nothing normal in our lives lately," said Ginny with a grin. "But, it's going to help you...so I think embarrassment should be bottom of our list."

"Thanks Gin," said Hermione. _I wonder how she'd feel if she realizes I'd like to have her hands and eyes on my body for other reasons? _she thought, _even if I'm just curious about it all. _

_**So you admit, you want her to look at you and touch you? **_her conscience asked. _Did I think that? I _didn't_ think that! _

_**You sort of did. **__Bollocks!_

"I'll get some dinner on the go now," said Ginny, getting up and walking towards the pantry. Lifting the lids on a couple of dishes, she called back through. "What would you like? There's one of those lovely shepherd's pies or what looks to be hotpot."

"Shepherd's pie," said Hermione.

In a short time, with dinner heated up on the range and the table laid ready, the two young women enjoyed their meal.

"We'll have to look through all of our things again, before we go," said Hermione, taking a sip from a glass of pumpkin juice.

"We'll have to transfigure you some more 'work uniform' clothes too," answered Ginny. "As I'm sure you don't want to be fiddling with stockings."

"Yes, that's a priority!" laughed Hermione. "Anyway, we don't have to worry about that now, or even tomorrow. I have a feeling I'll be fairly tired once I take the potion, and it might be this time tomorrow before I start to feel better."

"That's no problem," said Ginny. "I can keep an eye on you. If you have to stay in bed I can bring you food and drink so you won't starve."

"I don't like you having to look after me like that," said Hermione.

"Why? I won't be doing anything. It will give me something to do, something to think about," said Ginny truthfully.

Hermione just nodded, once again grateful for the person who had come with her on this evermore mysterious quest.

XXXXXXXXXX

It wasn't just Hermione who felt tired by early evening, Ginny was feeling very weary too. The redhead washed up the items used at dinner, glad of the time to ready herself for helping Hermione later. She found herself taking the occasional deep breath and even stretching her neck out. Then she caught herself doing that and was annoyed. _Honestly!_ she thought, _anyone would think I had a huge quidditch match coming up! Or an exam. __**Well, you **_**will **_**be examining Hermione, won't you? **_her conscience suggested. _Great! I really needed to think about it in _that _way!_

"Do you need any help?" called Hermione, who was sitting in the study looking at a couple of books, after Ginny insisted she would take care of clearing up the dinner things.

"No. I'm nearly done," the red-haired woman called back.

Hermione walked through to the kitchen a few minutes later, as Ginny was putting the plates back into a cupboard. "I'm going to head upstairs now," said the brunette. "I'm going to take a bath."

"You'll be okay?" asked Ginny; she could almost feel her conscience burning to add some thought to the situation, but she flatly ignored it.

"Yeah, I think so. I'll be careful," replied Hermione. "I just think it will do me good and everywhere will be clean ready to try the dittany later."

"I'll be up in a few minutes," said Ginny, as she put away the cutlery they had used.

After Hermione had departed and was upstairs, Ginny let out a big breath she hadn't realized she was holding in. _Stop having stupid thoughts,_ she admonished herself. _I'm going to be doing...what I'm doing, to help Hermione, nothing more._ Her conscience had more to say on it, however:

_**You'd love for her to call out to you for help in the bathroom wouldn't you? **__What? I wasn't even thinking that!_

_**You must have been! **__I told myself I don't care about my messed up feelings and should just go ahead and not think about anything too much. _

_**If that's so, you might end up kissing her! **__Oh shut up!_

Ginny was about to go upstairs when she wondered if Hermione had taken up a glass of water for her potion. She decided to fill a couple of glasses and take a tablespoon and a teaspoon with her too, so they didn't have to summon one later.

As she reached the landing, she could hear the bath filling up behind the closed door. Ginny walked into the bedroom and set the glasses down; one on Hermione's bedside cabinet with the tablespoon and one glass on her own side with the teaspoon. She saw that Hermione had brought up both potion bottles with her.

Despite what Ginny had told herself she still felt she needed to use up some time thinking of other things, so went back to her book on Muggle Seaside Towns again. Having read an interesting chapter on Scarborough in North Yorkshire, she was surprised to see Hermione walk back into the bedroom.

"That was quick?" asked Ginny.

"Magic is amazing!" smiled Hermione, referring to the fact she had used a drying-off spell.

"If it's okay with you," said Ginny. "I think I'll take a quick bath too, before we see to your potions."

"There's no rush," said Hermione. "Make sure you enjoy your bath, I'm not going anywhere."

Ginny got her night clothes ready and went off to the bathroom. Hermione had been having some thoughts about the impending situation too. She had removed her two dressings in the bath, and had hoped that maybe she could see enough to do the dittany part herself after all. Alas she couldn't see the abdomen one and couldn't see her chest wound site properly either.

She picked up the book that Ginny had been reading and perused the pages, but it wasn't long before little thoughts still came through loud and clear.

_**Admit it, you're not that sad that Ginny still has to help you?**_ asked her conscience. _It's going to be awkward. _

_**Have you noticed that Ginny has acted a little strange about it too? **__She's probably just a bit embarrassed as well. _

_**What's the worst thing that can happen? **__I don't even want to think on it! _

_**Afraid you can't control yourself? **__No! _

"Don't be ridiculous!" said Hermione outloud and to herself.

"Are you talking to me?" asked a concerned Ginny, as she walked through into the bedroom.

Hermione's head whipped up from the book. "Sorry Ginny," she said. "I was talking to myself."

"What's ridiculous?"

"Err...oh, like you considered, the idea witches and wizards haven't looked for King John's treasure long before now, because it would seem most likely many have looked," Hermione said, thinking very quickly and thankful she had that book in her hand. "So, did you enjoy your bath?"

"Yes, it's freshened me up a lot," said Ginny, as she folded up her clothes. _Come on, let's get on with it,_ thought Ginny, _get it over with. _"Are you ready to do the potion thing, now?"

"As ready as I'll ever be," Hermione almost sighed. _Get it over with now,_ she thought. "I thought I'd try the dittany first, then swallow the other potion."

"Do I drop drips of dittany over the areas or dab it on a tissue first?" asked Ginny.

"I hadn't thought about that," said Hermione. "I wonder if it would be better to put it onto a tissue and then we can get it more accurately to where I need it." _**Oh yes, and that way Ginny gets to touch you more,**_ said her conscience. _Shut up! Oh god, I hadn't thought of that_? _**No, but you have now!**_

_Ut-oh! _thought Ginny, _I have to _touch _her chest with a tissue? Bloody hell! __**Enjoy it! **_said her conscience. _I can't...it's all crazy._

Trying hard not to think on the new thoughts her mind had given her, Hermione looked into her beaded bag and pulled out a pack of tissues, freeing a couple from the packaging.

Ginny was trying hard not to dwell on the recent thoughts that had passed through her mind, and decided to think in a practical way to distract herself. "How am I going to do this? Sit by the side of the bed? Are you going to be lying down?"

"I think it's best if I'm almost lying down," said Hermione, also trying to think practical thoughts. "I think you should be able to manage if you sit or kneel next to me on the bed.

"Right," said Ginny. "Well...er...pass me the dittany bottle, and get yourself comfortable," she said to Hermione, trying to sound sure of herself as she kneeled to face Hermione.

Aware that Hermione was pulling off her T'Shirt, Ginny made a deliberate decision to be extra careful opening the bottle of dittany and upending it onto the tissue. This made it easier not to watch Hermione undressing her top half.

Hermione herself could sense what Ginny was doing and had to smile at how silly they were both being. "Okay," she said simply.

Ginny instinctually looked to her friend and was greeted by Hermione laying back, only slightly propped up on her pillows, and bare to the waist. The redhead had to try hard not to let her tongue loll out of her mouth.

_She's beautiful,_ Ginny thought, as she quickly took in the sight of her friend's firm breasts. _Stop it! __**Why? She's beautiful, it's a fact! **_her conscience chimed in. _Yes, but I'm supposed to be her friend. _

_**And friends can't be more? And can't think their friends are beautiful? **__Please concentrate...I need to concentrate._

Hermione had watched as Ginny had quickly roamed her eyes over her and had noticed a slight change in her friend's expression. _It's not revulsion or particular embarrassment, _Hermione thought, interested. Her conscience was more to the point:

_**Wouldn't you say it was a look that showed she liked what she saw? **__Not necessarily. _

_**Ron has looked at you like that, hasn't he? **__He was always undressing me with his eyes, where as I'm_ already _undressed. Ginny isn't looking at me like that, exactly. _

_**But it's a different look to how a nurse would look at you. **__Maybe..._

Ginny moved her eyes to the wounds Hermione had sustained, seeing them for the first time in the proverbial flesh. Each was around three inches long and the skin was all rucked up where it was stitched together with what looked like black thread.

"Oh my god!" Ginny exclaimed, almost frozen from further movement.

"What?" asked Hermione, worried for a moment.

"Those...those, whatever they are. You look like a sewing project gone wrong!"

"My stitches, you mean?" Hermione replied. "You can see why I wanted to try dittany as soon as I could."

"What the hell have they done to you?" said a still shocked Ginny. "Even _I_ can sew neater than that. You're a human being! Not a...not a sack!"

"I don't think World War Two army surgeons are used to worrying about how something looks," said Hermione, smiling. "They're usually just worried about saving a life, not how the results look later."

For the moment, Ginny was mesmerized by the stitches and disbelieving of it all at the same time.

"Are you all right, Ginny?"

"Sorry," replied the redhead, realizing she had been staring and had temporarily tuned out from what she was supposed to be doing. "I've never seen anything like it. It threw me a little."

"Don't worry," said Hermione. "Hopefully, with your help, they'll disappear. They might even be gone altogether by tomorrow."

"What will happen to the thread?"

"I'm not sure. I assume it will be left on the surface or will be easy to pull away. We'll find out, won't we?" smiled Hermione, trying to give confidence to her friend.

Ginny had folded the tissue around her fingers in such a way which made it easier to hold. _Here goes,_ she thought. Her hand hovered over the chest wound for a few moments, still in a little shock over the look of the stitches, hoping she wouldn't hurt her friend and all too aware of Hermione's breasts looking at her. The chest wound was only a little above the breast, below shoulder level.

Gently Ginny dabbed the tissue onto the scarred area. Hermione winced. "Sorry, did I hurt you?"

"No, the dittany stings."

"I should have remembered that from the first night we were here," said Ginny, remembering Hermione looking after their cuts and bruises in the church porch.

Tipping the bottle up over the tissue again and reapplying to Hermione's wound, Ginny looked for a moment to see if any progress had been made. Already the puckering of the skin looked smoother and two of the stitches had come to the surface as knots of thread.

"It's working," said Ginny with a smile, pleased to see the dittany doing what they hoped it would. "How much more do you think we'll need?"

"Until it all looks like it's healing," said Hermione.

The red-haired woman had been distracted by her genuine interest in the dittany doing its work and in Hermione's comfort, but after a few minutes of repeating the movements and being accustomed to how much pressure to use, her mind wandered; her eyes wandered too. _I could just reach out and hold her breasts,_ she thought. _Not those thoughts again? __**At least you're able to enjoy the view a bit longer, **_said her conscience.

Ginny hadn't realized that Hermione was frequently studying her face and she had noticed a quirk of a smile touch the corners of Ginny's mouth, as her eyes occasionally moved away from the area she was using the tissue on.

_**She's getting an eyeful!**_ said Hermione's conscience suddenly. _Perhaps she's just pleased the dittany is working? _

_**So why does she keep looking at the other side of your chest too? That side isn't injured. **__How should I know? _

_**She likes what she sees. **__Whatever..._

Hermione tried to push away her suggestive and confusing thoughts, but they had affected her. As Ginny leaned over her, she could smell the bubblebath Ginny had used. _She smells wonderful, _thought Hermione. _Smelling? I've started noticing how she _smells_? Merlin's pants!_

Her thoughts moved on from how good her friend smelled, but they only moved on to something just as flustering. She was back to thinking about Ginny possibly looking at her in a sexual way, and however mild or innocent it might have been it made her feel a blush rise to her cheeks. She also became more aware of Ginny touching her. Watching her friend get another clean tissue, put dittany onto it and then touch her gently with it, made her feel..._oh bugger! _Hermione could feel her nipples harden under Ginny's latest touch. _Crap! Crap! Triple crap!_

Ginny had noticed too. _Shit! Her nipples have...shit! _she thought, as she tried to avoid blushing or breathing differently. _**What's to stop you, seizing the moment? Showing her you've noticed her? To touch her more? **_her conscience burned through her flustered mind. _That is such a wrong thought to be having at this very moment. __**It's human...as both of you are. **__NO!_

"It's a bit...a bit chilly," said Hermione, nearly spluttering and realizing that she was only making her body's reaction more obvious than if she'd said nothing.

"It looks like we're nearly done on this place," said Ginny, struggling with speech thoughts herself, while thinking. _Don't think about her nipples, do NOT think about her nipples! _"Then you can put your T'Shirt back on and we can roll it up for your other scar."

After a few more applications, the scar on Hermione's chest was nearly gone. It was a faint red line, but the skin was smooth and almost normal.

Strangely, although Ginny had been having lusty thoughts flitting through her mind for most of the duration of her task, she didn't think about reaching out with her hand and gently dragging a finger along the scar, and finding to her relief and amazement the black thread easily brushed away. Hermione, however, couldn't stop a slight hitch in her breathing, when she felt Ginny's finger on her chest.

"Sorry, did that hurt?" asked Ginny, having noticed the slight movement from Hermione.

"No. Not really, I just wasn't expecting it."

"Look, all those stitches have just come away," said Ginny, as she brushed a finger across the threads again. She put one hand to the side of Hermione and gently brushed the threads over and caught them in that hand. "All done there," she said.

The brunette had had to try hard to keep her breathing steady, feeling Ginny brushing her fingers across her chest had felt weirdly wonderful. She didn't think her friend realized that she had accidentally brushed her nipple with the underside of her wrist as she brushed across. It sent a little jolt of sensations through Hermione, like she had butterflies fluttering all over and inside her body.

_Maybe with everything that has happened, I'm just desperate to be touched by someone? _Hermione considered. _**You've been over this. If that were true, then why didn't you go for more contact with Matt or Joe? **_her conscience answered. _I don't know. _

_**Yes you do. You're attracted to Ginny. **__Am I? _

_**Yes. **__Shit!_

"Right, you can put your T'Shirt back on now," said Ginny, as she dropped the threads she had collected onto one of the used tissues. "Now for the other place."

_**You're disappointed now she's covered up, aren't you? **_Ginny's conscience butted in on her thoughts. _Well...I...she..., _she had no answers to herself.

Rolling up the material of Hermione's T'Shirt, so she could access the other wound, Ginny repeated the process with the dittany. After several minutes, that place also nearly disappeared, with only a very faint red line visible, and the threads of the stitches brushed away.

"All done," said Ginny, who pulled Hermione's T'Shirt back down.

"Thanks Ginny," said Hermione. "I really appreciate everything you've done for me."

"You'd do the same for me."

"True. But I still want to thank you."

Ginny blushed a little but was determined not to allow herself to get more flustered than she was already. "I brought up spoons and glasses of water for us," she said.

"Brilliant. Thanks," said Hermione, as she reached for the other potion bottle and leaned over the glass of water as she measured out two tablespoons of the liquid, dropping it into the glass. She passed the bottle over to Ginny, who measured out a shallow teaspoon which she thought would be equal to a half-teaspoon. The potion Dumbledore had given them was a strange dark green colour, and didn't look appealing whatsoever.

Hermione gave the glass of water several stirs with the spoon, before picking up the glass and bracing herself to drink it; she assumed it would taste awful. "I had better stop looking at it and just drink it," she said a few moments later, Ginny watching her.

The first mouthful surprised Hermione, as it tasted better than she thought. She would have described it as minty in flavour, mixed with something akin to cloves. It reminded her of muggle boiled sweets in a selection known as 'Winter Mix'. Despite the surprisingly pleasant flavour, Hermione still decided to drink the concoction all down on the second go.

"It didn't look like it tasted too bad?" noted Ginny, as Hermione set down her empty glass.

"It was all right, almost pleasant," replied Hermione.

Ginny drank from her own glass, but could only taste a very faint herbal minty flavour, and was glad she could hardly taste it at all. "I was thinking of settling down for the night now," said Ginny. "Is that all right with you?"

"Absolutely," said Hermione, who immediately yawned. "Good grief! It's either the very thought of sleep making me yawn or that potion is already working."

"Can you feel anything?"

"Not much. I can feel a sort of warmth spreading through me," said Hermione, settling back and pulling the bedcovers up.

_I had a warmth spreading through me a few minutes ago too, _thought an amused Ginny._ It wasn't from potion though! Oops! Stop it!_

Dimming the lamps in the bedroom, getting into bed next to Hermione and pulling the bedcovers up on her side of the bed, Ginny nestled her head back into her pillows and for the first time in days, despite her task that evening, she felt more relaxed. She had Hermione back and she was going to get better fairly fast. _**And you had a free feel-up and look at her boobs! **_said her conscience, _Shut up...please! I suppose that means more stupid dreams...bugger! _But no matter what her thoughts had been, she couldn't help but smile.

"Sleep well, Hermione," said Ginny.

"I think I will, after that potion," answered Hermione, through another yawn. "Forgive me if I'm dopey or sleep too much tomorrow."

"Nothing to forgive," said Ginny. "Night!"

"Night Gin."


	37. Seize the Moment

**A/N: The dream in this chapter could almost be another weird one-shot. I enjoyed writing it. I wrote the dream in one go, just letting it do what it wanted, and afterwards I realized part of it reminded me of a scene from the movie **_**The Hunger.**_**..sort of. :)**

**This chapter might make some people hear trumpet fanfares...;)**

37: Seize the Moment

Hermione was aware that she was entering a very deep sleep, as she shut her eyes. Her body felt a little strange and she knew that it must be the potion already working to heal her internally. The sensation was like she could feel every one of her veins and arteries having a hot liquid passed through them, much warmer than blood. It wasn't unpleasant, just strange. Experiencing a slightly sluggish feeling she assumed she wouldn't dream, but then remembered never to assume anything when it came to what happened after she closed her eyes..._zzzzzzz_

It became apparent to Hermione that she was walking along a path, with trees and hedges either side. Her footsteps were incredibly slow and heavy. _It seems I'm groggy in my dream too, then?_ she considered as she dreamed.

For a moment she thought she was heading to Gaunt's shack again, and she really didn't want to go there. In both the waking and sleeping worlds that place had brought her nothing but trouble and misery. As she continued to walk, she realized that it wasn't the path to the shack, but was still vaguely familiar to her.

It was either dusk or dawn, going by the dullness around her, and moody lighting, and still she carried on walking. Up ahead she saw some iron gates and it was then she knew where she was, and the recognition of the place didn't make her feel any better; it looked like Malfoy Manor. _Why am I here?_ she thought tiredly.

Expecting difficulty at the gates she was surprised when she opened them and walked straight through. Hermione's dream-self continued her heavy, almost comically slow steps, making the real Hermione feel like she was walking with diver's boots on.

The Manor looked just as dark and mysterious as the time when Harry, Ron and herself were brought there. She went to the main door and again opened it with no problem and walked in.

Hermione headed down the ominous hallway and soon found herself in the room she remembered that Bellatrix had tortured her in. Looking around, she couldn't see anyone else in there with her, despite a healthy fire crackling in the hearth. _What is the point of this?_ she thought, wondering why she was dreaming it all.

"The mudblood's come back to play, has she?" said a familiar voice, making Hermione jump.

Bellatrix Lestrange stood up from a chair that had been facing the fire. Hermione immediately tried to reach for her wand, but her pockets were empty, as were her sleeves.

"You won't need a wand, deary!" laughed Bellatrix, as she almost skipped a couple of steps to stand in front of Hermione. "I'm the only one that needs a wand here."

_Bloody marvellous!_ thought Hermione sarcastically. _She's going to torture me and do what she likes with me. Perhaps that potion is to blame. _Whatever the reason, Hermione felt angry and impatient and it seemed to filter through to her dream-self. "Fine!" she said loudly. "Just get on with it."

Bellatrix put her head on one side, looking Hermione up and down as if she were a new strange creature that needed indentification. "That's no fun, if you know what's coming," said the deranged woman, with a pout.

"Of course I know what's coming!" snapped Hermione, startling her real self, proud at her confidence in such circumstances. "You're Bellatrix. Everyone knows what you like doing...people will write books about it I don't doubt."

"Books are worthless," said the Lestrange woman who was now fiddling with the wand in her hands.

"A bit like you, then," said Hermione, knowing that she was pushing her luck.

"Oooo hark at you!" exclaimed an amused Bellatrix. "I'd say mudbloods like you are worthless."

"You _would_ say that," replied Hermione. "You're so predictable: 'Mudbloods are yucky, pure-bloods rule'. And no doubt you intend to use one of the nastier curses on me just to prove what a higher being you are."

"I don't like this," said Bellatrix, which made Hermione look at her in disbelief.

"Then go away and leave me alone!" said the younger woman. "I mean to say, what the hell are you doing here anyway? You're obviously reluctant to use a curse on me, or you would have done so already. Just what is the point of this?" _Yeah, I'd really like to know that,_ she thought as she dreamed.

"This isn't how it's supposed to be!" said Bellatrix, almost hissing with frustration. "You're supposed to be scared, frightened enough to shit yourself. But you're not. _WHY_ aren't you scared?"

_Why aren't I?_ thought Hermione. "I don't know. I've experienced you once, I suppose you lose your scary edge on a second confrontation," answered the dream-Hermione.

"Does nothing scare you, mudblood?" asked Bellatrix, tilting her head on the side again to study the younger woman.

"Losing my family and friends. If we can't save them all when we get back. I would say I'm scared of that."

"Oh so obvious," said Bellatrix, rolling her eyes almost boredly. "Aren't you a tinsy bit afraid of dying yourself?"

"Not really," said Hermione. "I've been close to that recently. There's not much you can do, except hope you live and let things happen."

"You _are_ a brave mudblood, aren't you?" mocked the older woman.

"Bravery has nothing to do with it," dismissed Hermione. "I just do what I have to and what I can."

"So very, very brave," continued Bellatrix in her usual unhinged way. "Except you're not really are you, not on things that really, _really_ count?"

"What are you talking about?" asked a bemused Hermione.

Bellatrix flicked her wand at the large table which was in the room and suddenly Ginny appeared, lying on the table, seemingly bound head to foot with rope and not moving at all.

"What have you done to her?" Hermione asked, feeling frantic for the first time. She tried to make her way over to the table, to Ginny, with her feet feeling as heavy as blocks of iron, slowing her progress.

"Me?" screeched Bellatrix. "What have _I_ done to her? Nothing...which is sad to say, because she's an awful blood-traitor, but you got there first."

"ME?" said Hermione.

"Ooo you're sounding like me now, mudblood!" grinned Bellatrix.

"Tell me what you mean?" asked Hermione.

The Lestrange woman started to giggle, and put a hand to her mouth like a naughty schoolgirl, as she stood next to Hermione overlooking the apparently unconscious and bound Ginny.

"Tell me, you bitch!" shouted Hermione. In a move which shocked the real Hermione to the bone, she reached out with her right hand and wrapped it around Bellatrix's throat, and started to squeeze; she could feel the woman's pulse, feel her swallow. _She'll curse you,_ she thought, _that isn't going to work._

Bellatrix's eyes had gone wide and bizarrely she had dropped her wand and was frantically trying to move Hermione's hand from her throat, making gagging noises. "I...I'll...t...tell...you," the older woman rasped.

Hermione let go of the woman's throat. _She'll trick you,_ she thought as she observed this peculiar dream. But Bellatrix didn't move, just stood there and coughed a couple of times.

"You let her come with you," said Bellatrix, gestruring to Ginny. "You opened her to all kinds of dangers. If something happens to her, like this, it's _your_ fault."

"Don't be ridiculous!" said Hermione. "Ginny made her own mind up to come with me. And yes, if something happens to her I will blame myself, but I know _she_ never would."

"You're so not fun anymore," pouted the older witch. "You know all the answers. Or do you?"

"What are you babbling about now?"

"She's falling for you," said Bellatrix. "And you're falling for her, aren't you? Except both of you refuse to tell the other."

_Oh right!_ thought Hermione, as she dreamed, _I see this is a very muddled up dream with a little curious wishful thinking thrown in._

Bellatrix made a sniffing sound as if she could detect a bad smell. "I think it's all rather disgusting. A mudblood and a blood-traitor. Ew, makes my skin crawl."

"Yeah, well _you'd_ know all about making people's skin crawl," replied Hermione. She looked at the almost lifeless form of Ginny and reached out a hand to the redhead's cheek and with the back of her hand she could feel warmth. _At least she's alive,_ she thought. "So again, I ask you, what have you done to her?"

"Nothing," said Bellatrix, with another silly tittering giggle.

"What's wrong with her?"

"_You're_ what's wrong with her," said the clearly unbalanced older witch. "Maybe sleeping beauty needs to be woken up? I might decide to take her away again, if you don't hurry up about it!"

"Sleeping beauty? Do you mean woken up _like_ Sleeping Beauty?" asked Hermione uncertainly. _What would Bellatrix know about a muggle fairy tale?_ she thought.

"As I said, it's all rather disgusting, but yes, it seems you have to connect your dirty little lips to hers," said Bellatrix scrunching up her face. "You ought to seize the moment before it's too late."

_Fine, just do it_, Hermione thought and willed her dream-self to just kiss Ginny and be done with it. _It's only a dream and Bellatrix is making no sense whatsoever!_

Hermione leaned over Ginny, and looked down into her face, taking in how beautiful she looked as she lay there peacefully. Without much hesitation she slowly lowered herself and gently pressed her lips to Ginny's.

Ginny opened her eyes, and Hermione backed away a little. "I thought you'd never find me," said the red-haired woman. "I thought you'd never work out what was needed. What _I_ needed. I need you."

The ropes around Ginny had disappeared now and she wrapped an arm around Hermione's neck and placed her hand on the back of her head and brought her down to kiss her again. _Bollocks!_ thought Hermione. _Sleeping Beauty pecks are one thing, but deep snogging...again?_

"Urgh!" gagged Bellatrix next to them.

They ignored the Death Eater witch, as Hermione was still kissing Ginny, their tongues were exploring each other's mouths, gently questing and probing.

But things all happened and changed fast. Hermione was aware of a slight shoving sensation, and felt Ginny jerk in their embrace and then Bellatrix was cackling madly, and Ginny was coughing and suddenly Hermione tasted something odd...it tasted like...blood.

Hermione pulled back sharply from Ginny, to see that Bellatrix had stabbed the side of Ginny's neck and blood was pumping uncontrollably from the wound and from Ginny's mouth as well, and she was coughing and choking, the table dripping with blood.

"NOOOO!" shouted Hermione, as her hands went to the side of Ginny's neck, pressing at the entry wound to try and stop the bleeding, as Bellatrix watched on, amused, twizzling her dagger, with it's red-stained blade in her hands. It was the same dagger which had killed Dobby.

"No! Stay with me, Ginny. Please!" said Hermione frantically. She pressed hard to the side of Ginny's neck, but that only seemed to increase the flow of blood coming from Ginny's mouth.

The redhead looked up at Hermione, fear in her eyes, her face going whiter and whiter by the second. Then she gave a smile and it was almost as if the light had gone from her eyes. The sparkle that made her Ginny, had left.

"NOOOOO!" Hermione cried.

"I told you I hadn't done anything to her," said Bellatrix in an even voice. "I didn't say I _wouldn't_ do something to her, though. Oh well, your fault. And just as you find her and she finds you, you lose her...well played mudblood!" she laughed loudly.

_It's a dream_, Hermione thought, and then tried to wake up or get through to her dream-self. _It's a dream, she's next to you, she's not dead. It's a dream. _She looked down at Ginny again; the blood, the white lifeless face. She experienced a feeling she had never had before, she thought she could actually feel her heart break, like it had been frozen to ice and shattered.

"NOOOO!" she cried out again; despite the attempts to wake up, the potion had made her so slow she couldn't seem to move. Then she felt something go around her waist and pull her back, she wondered if it was Bellatrix grabbing at her. "Noo!" she uttered again, her voice seemingly hoarse..._zzzzzzz_

"Shh," said a familiar voice. "Wake up, Hermione. You're safe."

Hermione's whole body seemed to jump, her heart was racing, she felt like she couldn't get her breath and she seemed to be crying too. As she lay on her side, it took a moment or two before she remembered where she was and looked down to see an arm around her from behind.

"Ginny?" she said in a faint voice, still not fully awake. She knew the red-haired girl was with her, but a part of her was afraid that the dream was the real world, or had been a scene that had happened in the real world. The potion had made her thought processes harder to work through.

"I'm here," replied the voice, that was unmistakably Ginny's. "You sounded like you were having a terrible nightmare?"

Hermione couldn't answer as she was still struggling to get her breathing under control, and her chest felt extremely tight and not just around the area she had one of her injuries healing. She could still see the image of the bleeding Ginny, whether her eyes were closed or open.

"Hermione? Are you all right? Do you need anything?" asked a concerned Ginny.

After a few more moments, with Ginny ready to move and get a better look at her friend, to see what was going on, Hermione finally spoke. "I was...I was at Malfoy Manor and...I saw Bellatrix," she said.

Ginny settled back again. "Did she...was she hurting you?"

"No," said Hermione. "I was winning our conversation for most of the time, saying things to her I'd never have the guts to say in real life. It was almost funny, but then..."

"Things turned bad?" asked Ginny.

"Yeah," Hermione said, then left a long pause, making Ginny wonder if her friend was going to say anything else. "Then _you_ appeared."

"Okay," said Ginny uncertainly.

"She...you...," Hermione decided she had to move so she could see Ginny a little better, so she turned slowly and laid on her back with Ginny lying on her side, facing her still. "You were bound with ropes, unconscious...she...you...to cut a long story short," Hermione decided to say. "She...she stabbed you in the neck. The...the blood...and...you...," she tailed off again, unable to get rid of the image from her mind, of the lifeless bloodied Ginny.

"I'm not dead, though, am I?" said Ginny, realizing what must have happened.

Hermione turned herself slightly to actually face Ginny properly for the first time since she had woken up, almost finding the breath catching in her throat, to see a very alive and well Ginny looking back at her concerned.

"I don't know if it's the potion or what it is," said Hermione. "It was so real, so very real...I can still see it."

Ginny moved a hand up to Hermione's face and wiped away a stray tear that had freshly rolled down Hermione's cheek. "Our dreams have been bad for days now," the redhead said. "Every single one has felt real, hasn't it?"

Hermione nodded. "This was my worst one so far, I think. I felt things I've never felt before."

"Such as?" asked Ginny, interested.

_Oh shit_, Hermione thought, realizing what she was about to say. _That bloody potion has made me loopy! _Then her conscience chipped in:

_**Tell her. What better moment than now? **__Tell her all of it? _

_**If that dream taught you anything, it was about taking your moment and not waiting until it's too late. **__No way, I can't seriously be thinking of..._

_**Why not? You can always blame it on the potion. **__That's dreadful! It's like not revising for an exam then getting a bad mark and blaming it on having a cold. Everything could get very awkward and we have to..._

"You don't have to tell me," said Ginny, bringing Hermione back to the present. "It just seems to have helped us before, to talk about it."

"I watched the life leave you," said Hermione, determined to try and maintain eye contact with Ginny, however much her instincts were telling her to look away. "I looked down at you and I felt...I felt a physical ache in my chest. I was...I...,"

"You were...?"

"I was heartbroken," said Hermione, catching a small flicker of surprise in Ginny's eyes. "Then Bellatrix started raving...and saying things...that I...just as I...," she took a very deep breath. "That just as I had found you and you'd found me, that I'd lost you."

Ginny's expression hadn't changed a great deal, there had been a brief flicker of surprise again, but mostly she was just looking at Hermione warmly.

_Is she saying what I think she's saying?_ thought Ginny. _She's looking at me like she...like she what? _"So...err...had I gone missing?" asked Ginny, thinking of a way to get more understanding of the dream and what her friend meant.

"I didn't know you were missing, exactly," said Hermione, in a measured voice. "But Bellatrix made you appear and you were bound and unconscious. To wake you I had to...," she tailed off again. _Bugger! I'm going to have to continue and tell her, _she thought.

"You had to...?" asked Ginny. _Is she going to tell me she had to kiss me? What else would she have to do to wake me that would make her hesitate like this? _she thought, trying to keep her face neutral.

"I had to...well...kiss you," said Hermione. _There I've said it! SHIT!_

_It _was_ a kiss! She said it! SHIT! _thought Ginny. "So...did you?" asked a very curious redhead.

"Yes," Hermione said, with a small resigned sigh. "I did."

"Oh," was all Ginny could reply with.

_**Now is the time, **_Hermione's conscience suggested. _Is it? _

_**Why not? Ginny didn't back away from you, or appear to find the dream offensive. **__I don't want to ruin anything...besides which, what about Ron? _

_**What about him? **__I don't know...it's all odd. _

_**You've been through all the reasoning before, and not one really good reason stands in the way. **__Hmm..._

_What do I say now?_ thought Ginny. _If I hadn't had my own blasted kissing-Hermione-dreams I wouldn't be taking this strangely at all...bloody dreams! _"Err...was it...nice?" asked Ginny. _Wonderful thing to ask, just to make things even more awkward! _she berated herself.

"Yes, it was actually," said Hermione. _To hell with it, just say it, _she thought. "It was...it was even nicer when you pulled me back down for another one." _Bloody shitting hell, I've let the cat out of the bag...and it's a sodding great lion too! _she thought, avoiding closing her eyes so she didn't miss Ginny's reaction.

"I did _that_?" Ginny laughed nervously.

"Then...then Bellatrix stabbed you in the neck," said Hermione in a quiet voice, seeing the image again. "It was then I felt the whole heartbreaking thing...but before that the kiss had been very nice."

"I seem to have been very forward in your dream?" said a still uncertain Ginny. _What can I say? What the hell can I say to all that?_ she thought.

_Maybe I _should _seize the moment, _thought Hermione. _I could blame it on the potion, or just having a laugh, or something else that comes to mind in time, if it all goes wrong. __**Chicken!**_

Hermione looked at Ginny and smiled. "Yes, you were as forward as those American soldiers," she laughed, then made a decision. "You put an arm around my neck," said Hermione, as she reached over and put an arm around Ginny's neck. "Then with your hand on the back of my head you brought us...together," she said, as she leaned in and lightly touched her lips to Ginny's.

_She's going to kiss me, _Ginny thought, as Hermione had put an arm around her. _This is wrong...okay, not wrong...it's...oh hell, just go with it!_

They were connected for several moments, before Hermione pulled back again, already looking at Ginny's face to get an idea of how the redhead had really felt about being kissed by her best friend.

For the brief seconds when Hermione had pulled away, she could have laughed, as Ginny's eyes were still closed as though she was still in the kiss. It made Hermione feel relieved, for the moment.

Ginny opened her eyes and immediately looked at Hermione. "That...was...it was...," Ginny couldn't seem to find the right words for her sentence.

"Nice?" suggested Hermione.

"Ye...yeah," said Ginny, blushing and wanting to look away, but unable to, her lips tingling from that very basic and tame kiss. _What do I say? I can't speak! Shit, I've forgotten how to form sentences, _she thought, flustered.

_I've done it! _thought Hermione. _**Hardly! **_said her conscience. _All right, so I haven't done _it,_ but I kissed Ginny! What do I do now? _

_**Give her another one! **__Blimey...could I do that? Maybe that would be too much? _

"I hope I haven't embarrassed you or made you uncomfortable?" said Hermione, trying to gauge the situation she might or might not have created.

"No...," said Ginny, trying to get her mouth and tongue to work in synchroncity with her brain. "A little surprised...although...,"

"Although?" asked an uncertain Hermione.

"I...I've dreamed of kissing you recently," said Ginny. _I've told her! What did I do that for? _Ginny thought, shocked. "I...er...I think it was when I was looking for you. You were on my mind the whole time." _Why did I tell her that? I might as well tell her every sordid detail of my dreams with her! _

"Did you like those dreams?" asked Hermione, before she quickly added, "I mean, you didn't think they were nightmares...the kissing bits?"

"No, the kissing was...nice," said Ginny, blushing a deep red now. _Nice? Is that all we can say? 'It was nice'! _she thought. "It was the other things around the dreams that were the nightmares."

"Hmm," said Hermione, taking in what Ginny had told her. _Can I? _she thought. _Seize the moment! _"Would you like me to kiss you again?"

_She's asking me if I want her to kiss me again? I'm dreaming...this is some bizarre dream, _thought a confused and flabbergasted Ginny. A few moments had passed and Ginny hadn't changed her expression despite her brain feeling in turmoil.

"It's all right if you don't want me to," said Hermione. "It's all a little strange, especially with everything going on around us at the moment."

_She might not ask again, _Ginny thought, feeling a little numb now. _Answer her...ANSWER HER! _"All right," said Ginny, looking at Hermione and hoping she was smiling and not frowning or looking scared.

_She wants another kiss! _thought Hermione. _I'm sure it's completely wrong and could potentially be playing with fire...oh bugger it, we're in ridiculously complex circumstances, what's wrong with a bit of kissing and affection? _

Hermione looked into Ginny's eyes, and still with her arm around her friend she leaned in slowly and pressed her lips to the redhead's. It was velvet against velvet, and none of the sandpaper stubble Hermione had felt when kissing Ron. After a few moments, Hermione moved her lips a little more, just tiny nibbling movements and was happy to feel Ginny respond to her and could feel the redhead relax, which in turn made her feel relaxed too.

The kiss deepened slightly and after pulling back a little to nibble on a lower lip before resuming the gentle kiss, Hermione felt Ginny's arm make its way around her, and felt her hand go into her hair. It made the brunette smile as she carried on with the kiss...but she decided not to add any tongue. _The tongue might be too much for now,_ thought Hermione, almost wanting to giggle for thinking about it.

A few more moments and Hermione slowly broke the kiss. She had begun to feel very tired again, and almost a little dizzy. _Blasted potion! _she thought. _Perhaps it's not a bad thing to stop at that for now, though. _

Ginny opened her eyes, as before, and looked at Hermione. Both young women could see the other's eyes had darkened somewhat, and both knew the reason for that.

"I need to get some more sleep," said Hermione with a weary sigh, glad of having something she could say and not being tongue-tied, or left to stare gormlessly at Ginny. "The potion is making me a bit woozy again."

"That was...," Ginny started. _Don't say 'nice'! _she thought. _I must be able to say something better than that! _"I've dreamed of doing that for days," she said. _Great! Blurt out my secrets instead!_

"So have I," said Hermione. _She's admitted it, so I might as well too! _she thought. "You liked it? The real thing?" she asked, wondering what answer she might get.

Ginny gave a small sigh, like she had made up her mind about something after an arduous internal debate. "You're a good kisser, Hermione," she said, but wanted to curl up and disappear after she said it. _Stupid, stupid, stupid! _she thought, _That's as lukewarm as saying she has good shoes!_

"So are you," said Hermione, smiling. "I would have given you a little longer if not for needing more sleep."

"Hmm," was all Ginny could utter. _Was it just the potion made her kiss me? Well, made her kind of drunk to do it? Did she really want to kiss me for longer?_

"Just so you know," said Hermione, aware of a confused vibe from her friend. "I didn't kiss you because the potion has made me doolally. I wanted to do it. I don't want to make things awkward between us, and I know how complicated things are for both of us. I just...I don't know...I wanted to kiss you, so I have. I've felt so close to you these past few days, and well, it just seemed natural."

_She definitely wanted to kiss me!_ thought Ginny, feeling a warmth spreading throughout her body. _Is this all really happening?_

"We can talk in the morning," said Hermione, yawning. "If you want to?" _Please say I haven't frightened her? _she thought, a little concerned that Ginny hadn't said much.

"Yes," said Ginny with a smile, wishing she had answered with more. "Would you...would you like me to...sleep up close to you, in case you have anymore bad dreams?" _I hope I don't frighten her off by saying that._

"Yeah, it might help to ward off anything else," said Hermione. _My god that was pathetic! I want her close to me just to feel her there, bugger whether it wards anything off!_

The small clock on the dressing table stated it was just gone one o'clock, when Hermione laid on her back and Ginny shifted herself so she was still lying on her side, but up against Hermione, with her head close to Hermione's on the pillows and an arm laid lightly across her waist. The brunette couldn't stop a contented smile from reaching her lips, as both women drifted off to sleep.

Ginny felt contented too, and was almost replaying recent events in her head, to believe what had happened. As of yet, she hadn't taken a visit to any dream, but wondered now what form it would take if she did dream that night. _If I dream about kissing Hermione, at least I'll know why I'm dreaming it now_, she thought with a lot of beguilement, as her breathing slowed and sleep came to her.


	38. Not a Dream

**A/N: Thanks everyone for the lovely reviews. So, I'm guessing chapter 37 was popular? LOL**

**Don't worry, chapter 37 wasn't the pinnacle, there's plenty more things to happen yet, before I'm done with using up your time. ;)**

**The issue of what their next task is, will be dealt with in due course, but we need a couple of 'dealing with current situation' chapters. It wouldn't be all that realistic if I had them kiss and then they just go "Done that, no big deal, let's move on." There's a bit of character development needed. Plus, I like to take these characters out of their comfort zone a little. :) **

38: Not A Dream

Ginny entered a dream, no longer as concerned as before about having a dream where she hugged or kissed Hermione. She wasn't entirely sure what their real kiss would mean yet, and didn't want to think on it until she had to; for now she dreamed..._zzzzzzz_

Sitting on a comfortable sofa, staring into a roaring fire in a hearth, Ginny recognized the Gryffindor Common Room. She appeared to be alone, and as she looked to a window, she could see that it was dark outside.

A noise made her turn her head round, hearing the portrait door open and a little scuffling noise of someone or something passing through. She didn't see anything for a moment or two.

"Hello?" Ginny called.

In a breeze of motion, Harry suddenly stood before her, having taken off his Invisibility Cloak.

"Harry?" asked a surprised Ginny. "What are you doing?"

"Oh nothing much, you know, the usual," he grinned. "Snooping on things, keeping an eye on Malfoy."

"Was he doing anything interesting?" she asked. _I really don't give a rat's arse what Malfoy was doing,_ she thought as she dreamed.

"No, he wasn't around. I figured you'd be alone now, so I came back to see you," Harry said, taking a seat next to her on the sofa.

"Any particular reason you wanted to see me?"

"Can't I see my girlfriend when I want to?" asked Harry, as he turned slightly to look at her.

"I'm your girlfriend again?" she asked, mildly surprised.

"You always have been mine, haven't you?"

Ginny didn't answer, because she didn't know _how_ to answer. Harry had tried to split up with her and push her away a couple of times in real life, although it was obvious to most people that they were still techinally an item. To the Ginny dreaming this scene, she was confused, because in real life he was dead, and with all the horrible and crazy dreams she had had involving Harry, she wasn't sure how to talk to him anymore, even it if was only in a dream.

"Answer me, Ginny, please?" said Harry in a soft voice, reaching over and clasping her hands in his.

"It's a peculiar situation right now," she told him, turning a little so she was looking at him. "I'm not sure of anything anymore."

Harry studied her face. "So it's true," he said.

"What is?"

"You've got someone else, haven't you? HAVEN'T YOU?" said Harry, raising his voice.

"No," she answered. _I've been dreaming of kissing Hermione, and have really done so too, but we're not...not going out...are we?_ she thought confused as she dreamed.

"You couldn't wait, could you?" Harry said in a stern voice. "I turn my back for a short time and you've already left me!"

"Left you?" Ginny said, staring into the fire now, not able to look at him. "I never _left _you. You always left _me_!"

"You were so quick to move on, weren't you? Anything with a damn heartbeat!" Harry said angrily. "You've never believed in me, never!"

"Believed in you? Harry, I've always supported you and believed in you and fought for your cause. You know I have!"

"Do I? You've moved on so fast, you might as well have killed me yourself!" Harry spat.

It was then that Ginny became aware of how cold Harry's hands had become, as they almost painfully clasped hers now. She looked down and saw with horror that his hands were the grey-green flesh she had dreamed of before. Not really wanting to, but unable to avoid doing so, she looked up into his face and saw the same decomposing face she had seen before.

"You're dead," she almost whispered. _Well done! What a brainy observation!_ thought a sarcastic Ginny to herself.

"So it seems," said the dead Harry, but he loosened the grip he had on her hands now. "I'll always love you."

Ginny could feel a lump in her throat. "I'll always love you, Harry," she said. "Despite everything, you're were my first love, and will always be in my heart."

Harry made a sniffing noise, which could either have been a sniff of emotion or a dismissive gesture, Ginny wasn't sure. "I hope they're worthy of you?" he said sadly.

"Who?" asked Ginny. _He can't mean Hermione, can he? That's mad to even consider her in those terms, isn't it? _she thought, confused.

Harry just smiled, which actually looked dreadful, because of the dead flesh of his face. And just as suddenly as he had appeared he was gone again.

Ginny looked down at her hands and Harry's were gone. "Harry?"..._zzzzzzz_

She woke up, not with a start, but feeling a lump in her throat. _Why does he keep appearing like this?_ she thought. _Am I feeling guilt over leaving everyone? He's dead, he left before _I _did. Wouldn't he want me to be trying to fight for the others left behind? Surely it can't be about Hermione? Can it? _

The redhead wiped a stray tear from her eye, took a deep breath and thought again. _Are my dreams saying I've felt something for Hermione for a long time? Is that it? Am I'm being given dreams of guilt and loss because of _all _of it?_

Looking at her position, Ginny could see that she was still tucked up next to Hermione and thankfully she hadn't woken her. She couldn't help a small smile as she saw how peacefully her friend slept, and despite everything, how beautiful she looked, with her tousled hair framing her face and spread on the pillows. More thoughts came to Ginny in those few moments.

_What did those kisses mean last night?_ she thought. _Was it just something that happened, and we smile and carry on like nothing has changed? Did they mean something more? Do I want them to mean something more? _

_**I think you do. **_said her conscience. _Do I? I don't know what I'm thinking. Harry died just over a week ago...well in actual days we've lived, not this timeline of course. I was devastated, I still am to an extent...how can I move my affections so fast? _

_**Think to your dreams. You said you hadn't thought of marrying him. Maybe you never wanted to be with him like that. Think of your love for him as a brother and best friend instead. **__Oh that's just me trying to make myself feel less guilty. I don't know what I would have wanted with Harry. _

_**Sex? **__I always thought we would do that, yes. Why does life have to be so complicated?_

_**Because it just is. **__All I can do is wait and see what Hermione says and try to gauge things from there. _

It was lighter in the room and lifting her head slightly, Ginny could see the clock on the dressing table was showing nine o'clock. _That potion must have made me extra sleepy too,_ she thought. She looked over to Hermione again, and seeing her sound asleep, she gently and carefully moved and rolled away, and then rose from the bed. Flexing her hand she could feel that she no longer had a broken bone, and not even any stiffness; Dumbledore's potion had certainly worked on her. _I hope it's made Hermione better too_, she thought.

Ginny picked up the beaded bag and found up her clothes from the day they arrived here to wear, not wanting to put the WAAF uniform on again until she had to, and went to the bathroom to freshen up and dress. Then she went downstairs, thinking she would make a pot of tea and bring it upstairs so Hermione could have a cup when she woke up.

Hermione hadn't had anymore definite dreams. She had hoped to have a sexy dream or two about Ginny, now she actually had some real experience of locking lips with her. All she remembered dreaming was climbing stairs, more and more stairs, with never seeing the top. The dream made her so tired _in_ the dream that she fell asleep in the dream too.

The brunette was aware of a little movement, and thought it must be Ginny, turning over. Hermione was going to let herself sleep again, but then she heard the toilet flush and footsteps go down the stairs.

Opening her eyes properly, Hermione saw that it was fairly light in the room, despite the curtains. She reached under her pillow for her wand and flicked it to move the curtains apart slightly, to let in more light.

Placing her wand back under her pillow, her next thought was of Ron. _I've kissed his sister_, she thought. _I've kissed Ginny...twice...and not as a friend would kiss a friend. _

_**You wanted to do it, it was very natural. **__I know, but I feel so guilty over Ron. Less than a week ago he and I finally kissed, finally got together, in a manner of speaking. Only days ago I was fantastizing about having a bath with him! After all those years and finally getting together in some way and yet in days I move on to his sister? That makes me...I don't know what it makes me, but the word 'slut' comes to mind. _

_**You can't change how you feel. Even in dreams Ron is annoying you, but Ginny is there for you. **__Yes, but it could just be my mind offering a pleasant alternative brought on by the stress of everything. _

_**Would you kiss Ginny again? Or more importantly, do you want to? **__Yes. But I think, deep down I was hoping once I kissed her I would have got it out of my system...but. _

_**She's in your system, still? **__I think so...yes...I _know_ so. _

"You're awake?" asked Ginny, as she walked through into the bedroom with a tray, holding a pot of tea, two cups and a milk jug.

Hermione was brought back to the present, and smiled at the red-haired girl. "I'm sitting up with my eyes open, so that generally points to being awake," she chuckled.

"Smart arse!" said Ginny, grinning back. "How do you feel this morning?"

"I don't know," said Hermione. She stuck her head down her own T'Shirt and could hardly see even the faint red line of her chest scar, then lifted up her T'Shirt and found the stomach scar nearly invisible too. Then she lifted her arms above her head and tried to twist her body from side to side. "Better," she said as a result. "Just a little stiff."

"That's good," said Ginny as she sat on the bed next to her, with the tray in front of her, pouring out their teas. "I suppose you won't know how tired you feel, until you get up or try to do something?"

"I'm sure we'll find that out later today."

There was a pause of silence between the two women now, both taking slightly slurping sips from hot cups of tea. There was a definite awkwardness and Ginny wasn't so sure she wanted to talk about last night and their kiss, not just yet anyway.

"So, do you want any breakfast?" asked Ginny.

"I think I might get up in a little while and try to get it myself," replied Hermione.

"It's no trouble," said Ginny, making to move from the bed again.

Hermione laid a hand on her arm. "I know it's awkward, I know it's complicated and maybe both of us don't want to talk, but I think we _should_ talk about last night."

"Oh," said Ginny, sitting back again, realizing there was no escape from it.

An uncomfortable silence ensued for a few moments, until Hermione finally spoke. "It's all so confusing." Ginny didn't answer, she didn't know how to, and couldn't think of anything to say.

"It's happened so fast," said Hermione.

"Are...are you saying...," Ginny struggled to form the sentence she wanted to ask, and couldn't look at her friend. "Do you regret it?"

"No," said Hermione with no hesitation. "I've had dreams of kissing you and, as I said last night, it just seemed a natural thing I wanted to do. Do you wish I hadn't?"

"No," said Ginny in a quiet, soft voice. "I've had dreams about you too. It's...it's just, I don't know what to think."

"About what?" asked Hermione.

"About a lot of things. We've been here over a week, that's all. Harry...Harry died back then. It feels like months ago, but it's hardly ten days. It should feel wrong...I shouldn't be moving on...how can...," Ginny tailed off as she tried and failed to make her thoughts into a concise sentence.

"You feel guilty about it?" asked Hermione.

"Yes," replied Ginny. "Harry was in my dreams again last night. He was in the dead form, not as bad as before, but...but he still accused me of...well, moving on too fast."

"I feel guilty too," said Hermione. "After all those years of being annoyed at Ron for never asking me out or showing proper interest in me. We finally accept that he and I are sort of together, we finally kiss, even if it was in the middle of the magical world's biggest battle, and I know I care for him a great deal, and yet...,"

"And yet?" prompted Ginny, wanting to know what Hermione was thinking, because it might help herself to think through her own situation.

"And yet...those dreams I've had of you, they...you...," Hermione sighed, irritated by her own stumbling words. "What I felt for you in those dreams, and when you and I were separated...it's hard to describe but what I felt for you was...stronger."

"I don't know what to think about any of it," admitted Ginny. "I should be grieving, shouldn't I? For Harry? For Fred?"

"Hmm. A lot of people might think so," said Hermione thoughtfully. "But how long a person grieves is not written in stone. It's a personal thing, and how you deal with it is also an individual thing."

"So, maybe I'm feeling these...things for you, because it's how I'm dealing with my grief?" asked Ginny, frowning, taking some sips from her dwindling cup of tea.

Hermione considered what her friend had said and she felt a small dropping feeling in her chest, and hoped against hope that Ginny wasn't just experiencing the stress of events. _Am I just stressed too?_ she thought.

"It's possible, I suppose," said Hermione, with a slight resigned tone. "Maybe it's the same for me, with the stress. But, I'm feeling something for you, Ginny. It feels real to me. Only you can know what you feel deep down."

"I just don't know," Ginny said, wishing she could gather her thoughts better. "The dreams I've had, surprised me. I've never had dreams about kissing you before, or any other girl for that matter. The dreams just happened, and although I was trying to run from them and stop myself from letting the dreams continue, I can't deny that...that I enjoyed them," she blushed, and looked down at the dregs in her cup.

"Are you worried about...the whole kissing a girl thing?" Hermione asked with curiosity.

"I've never thought about it before," said Ginny. "I think if we got back and...and someone found out, I'd be...worried about the reaction."

"I'd agree with you on that," said Hermione. "I don't find it odd, wanting to kiss a girl and be kissed back, but the reception from other people...it's disconcerting. The unknown can be scary."

"What would Ron think?" Ginny suddenly thought.

"I've considered that," sighed Hermione. "And I just don't know. To tell him I don't think he and I should be together after all...it would be so hard to tell him. I care for him a great deal, I do. A part of me will always love him, so I don't know how I could hurt him like that."

"If you hadn't dreamed of kissing me and actually doing so," said a still blushing Ginny. "Would you still want to break up with Ron?"

Hermione sighed deeply. "I think the answer is 'yes'. If my dreams have shown me anything, it's the fact he and I would always be arguing. We have a deep connection, that can't be denied, but to be a couple? I just don't think that would ever work for long."

"I always thought, I'd be with Harry in some way," said Ginny. "I'd never really thought about the long term thing, and a couple of my dreams tell me I wasn't ready for more with him yet, but I just assumed he'd beat You Know Who, somehow, and we'd be able to get together again properly."

"If Harry...," Hermione paused, thinking over her words carefully. "If Harry hadn't died, would you have been with him, then?"

"I don't know...I think so," Ginny said, shrugging her shoulders. "Although, I never liked the way he pushed me away. He was always saying it was for my safety and all that stuff, but it hurt for him to end things with me like that, however good the intentions were behind it."

"Sooo...," Hermione sighed yet again.

"What?" asked Ginny.

"It brings us back to...well, _us_."

"Oh."

"What do we do?" Hermione said, leaving the question hanging there.

"I don't know," Ginny said, feeling weary all of a sudden. "I...I...bugger it, I don't know!"

Hermione slid the tray with the teapot and cups further down the bed, then turned to Ginny and got hold of the redhead's hands, so that she looked up and they looked into each other's faces.

"Would you like to see if we could be more than friends?" Hermione said. "There's no pressure. You don't have to say 'yes'. If you did there would still be no pressure and we would take things really slow, because above all we have a serious situation going on here with Dumbledore's work, as well as us both having come from highly stressful events back at Hogwarts. But, we could be closer, if you'd like that? It's up to you, but for me, I'd like to be more than friends with you. To at least try it. I know it's happened fast and in peculiar circumstances, but it's happened, I can't change how I think I'm feeling."

Ginny could feel her cheeks flush warmly again, and thought she might as well give up trying not to blush, because it never worked in preventing the blush; she thought she had probably been continually red-cheeked, in varying degrees, since the conversation began. She looked down at her hands being held by Hermione's and spent several moments thinking.

"Life is fragile here, and back there at our Hogwarts, Fred and Harry have taught us that," began Ginny. "In all the thoughts I've had after my dreams of you, a notion came up once or twice about being away from everything and everyone else and that it was an opportunity to be with you, with no one knowing it...to try it, to experience it without the world passing judgment; and yes, I know how cowardly that sounds! Anyway...I think...," Ginny tailed off again, not quite ready to say what she had been going to say, and knowing she had been on the verge of an almighty babbling ramble.

"You think?" Hermione prompted.

"I...yes," Ginny said, letting out a breath. "There, I've said it. Yes, I would like...you know...to try."

Hermione smiled and gave Ginny's hands a little squeeze. "I know we're best friends," she told the redhead. "If possible, I never want that to change, but I'd like to see if we could have more than that. And by the way, I don't think you're cowardly at all, you made perfect sense to me."

Ginny nodded, wondering if she was about to wake up and find this whole tricky conversation was another lucid dream of hers.

"Can I...?" Hermione started to say then had her own attack of embarrassment.

Ginny looked up again, and saw Hermione's cheeks coloured once more. "What?" she asked, wondering what Hermione wanted to say.

"Can I kiss you, now?" Hermione said in a timid voice.

Taking in a deep breath Ginny nodded and smiled, before letting the breath out slowly again. Hermione kept hold of one of Ginny's hands, but reached forward with her other hand to cup the redhead's cheek.

"Your skin is so amazingly soft," said Hermione. Seeing Ginny want to look away bashfully, Hermione let her thumb stroke her friend's cheek and not wanting to make Ginny feel anymore awkwardness she leaned forwards and placed her lips against the redhead's.

After a few moments both young woman began to move their lips, gently nibbling and pressing their lips against the other woman's. Ginny moved one of her hands up and cupped Hermione's cheek, and moved it into the brunette's hair.

_Keep it simple,_ Hermione thought to herself as she enjoyed the kiss. _Not too much too soon._

When Hermione could begin to feel herself wanting much more and wanting to hold Ginny tighter and deepen the kiss further, she gently pulled back, leaving a lingering caress of a kiss on her friend's lips.

Opening their eyes, and looking at each other, both couldn't help smiling, then snorting with laughter. Everything just seemed bizarre; here they were in 1943 and snogging? If they didn't already know, life could be surprising and crazy.

_I've kissed Hermione again_, thought Ginny, _and it's not because of potion or tiredness. We're going to 'try _us_'. Bloody hell...how did this happen?_

"Thank you," said Hermione.

"For what?" asked Ginny.

"For that kiss, for wanting to give 'us' a go," the brunette smiled.

Ginny moved to take the tray off the bed to the dressing table, giving her a few more seconds to think of what she wanted to say. "Hermione," she said, not turning around from the dressing table and only peeping at the reflection in the mirror, then not able to even do that as she began to speak again. "You don't...you don't have to _ask_ for kisses in future." _Wow, _I'm _forward now! _

Hermione didn't answer, and Ginny didn't turn around. _Have I said too much now? _Ginny thought, studying the teapot nervously. "I don't mean we have to kiss every second of the day...or, whenever. I just meant...," It was then Ginny felt arms wrap around her from behind. She hadn't heard Hermione get up and walk to her. _This is a dream,_ she thought, _it has to be. I'll wake up any minute._

"You're not dreaming," said Hermione.

Ginny turned in Hermione's arms, looking confused. "Oh, I must have been thinking out loud," she said slightly embarrassed.

"Don't worry about it," Hermione chuckled. "But this _is_ real." She leaned forwards and placed a peck on Ginny's lips. "I could get used to that."

"I think I could too," said Ginny. "If I can keep reminding myself I'm not asleep!" She then thought of a dream which was the reverse of what Hermione had just done to her, wrapping her arms around her from behind. "Hermione, did you ever used to go to the Owlery much?"

"Sometimes, why do you ask?"

"Did you have a secret place there? A top floor that most people don't know is there, with a little room space with a spectacular view from a glassless window?"

Hermione's eyes went wide and her jaw dropped slightly, "What?"

"Oh, it was just a dream I had the other night," said Ginny. "You took me up there to talk, I figured it was just my imagination."

"No, it wasn't completely," said Hermione. "There is a place at the Owlery where I'd go to think. But...how did you know about it? Dumbledore and McGonagall told me about it during my Third Year, when I needed some space from my hectic timetable...but I didn't think anyone else knew about it?"

"I didn't until that dream, and I just thought my brain had made it up," replied Ginny. "So it exists?"

"Yes."

"It seems our dreams are accurate on some things, then?"

"It would seem so," said Hermione. "A bit like my dream of Nagini biting me, that was before Gaunt did it. I've wondered if that was prophetic in some way."

"Oh well, at least when I dream of you now, I won't have to keep telling myself to jump out of the window and stop it!" said Ginny, grinning.

"I know what you mean," replied Hermione. "Anyway, I think I'm going to go to the bathroom and get up, see how well I've healed."

"If you need any help with anything, just shout," said Ginny.

"Ginny Weasley, you're being very bold!"

"I...I didn't mean it like that, I just meant...,"

"I'm teasing," said Hermione. "I knew what you meant. And thank you."

"I'll get breakfast started, what would you like?"

"I was thinking of toast," said Hermione.

"I thought I'd make myself some scrambled eggs on toast, would you like some?" asked Ginny.

"Yes, that sounds good. I'll be down soon." Hermione went to the bathroom taking her beaded bag with her to choose some clothes.

Ginny descended the stairs and as she began to get the things she needed, ready in the kitchen, she found herself going over the recent conversation.

_Hermione wants to try being more than friends with me? She wants to kiss me? She doesn't want to judge me on how fast all of this is happening?_ Ginny thought. _And she doesn't want to pressure me and wants to take things slow. I don't care what she says, I do feel like I'm dreaming. But, even the little kisses this morning, felt right, in an odd way of course, but it didn't feel wrong._

As Hermione freshened up and began to dress she halted as she did up her bra. _Goodness! Ginny must have felt so awkward when she saw me nearly naked last night. I thought her eyes were roaming, but now I know they really must have been! Yet, she didn't try anything with me, _she thought. _Too nervous and peculiar, the poor girl. Now, Ron would have blushed, but probably got over it, stared and then maybe got a hold of 'things'. Kissing Ginny didn't feel wrong and when I held her, it felt good...close and right...not at all wrong. I still don't know how this has happened so fast. Maybe it _is _the stress that's hurried things along? We'll take it slow from here and see what happens, that's all we can do. _


	39. Getting Used To It

**A/N: I wasn't absolutely sure how Ginny and Hermione would act with one another until I started writing it. It seems my thought processes when writing this made them incredibly cute with one another. I hope it doesn't provoke too much vomiting while reading it? ;)**

**As Hermione is a little older than Ginny I've made her the one to take those bolder steps and to trample on her own nerves first...in regards to their relationship, anyway. Having taken steps and choices to keep Ron and Harry alive most of her teenage years she's used to making decisions and having to move forward with things. Both characters will develop a bit as the story goes on.**

**This update is two chapters(39 & 40), because I might not be able to update again until this time next week.**

39 Getting Used To It

Ginny and Hermione sat at the kitchen table to have their breakfast, both feeling more relaxed, knowing what the other had been thinking and feeling and knowing what they had both decided, in regards to their relationship. Several smiles were exchanged over the breakfast table with both young women still wondering how they had reached this point at all, but content all the same.

After finishing scrambled eggs on toast and another cup of tea, Ginny made a start to clear the table and considered washing things up. "How are you feeling, now?" Ginny asked. "Do you still feel tired?"

"A little," said Hermione. "I feel sluggish more than tired. Last night I felt so tired I even fell asleep in my dream!"

"But everything else feels better, doesn't it?" asked Ginny, concerned.

"Yes, I've got all my movement back," replied Hermione. "I can hardly even feel I was injured now."

Ginny made a start on washing up the breakfast things, deciding to use the muggle method rather than magic. Hermione stood up and joined her, grabbed a teatowel from a shelf in the pantry and began to dry some of the items.

"I think I'd like to go through the items in our bags today," said Hermione. "I can't think of anything else to do to use up the day. If that's all right with you?"

"If you're sure, it will be good to check on what we have again," said Ginny. "But if you get too tired we can stop. As Dumbledore said, our next destination isn't going anywhere."

"I think because we've been from one situation to the next, thinking of one plan after another, that I'm not quite sure I would deal with being completely still and resting," said Hermione, as she dried their cups. "It's silly, I know, especially as we were saying how we needed a rest."

"I thought I'd want a quiet day of doing nothing too, but since I've got up today, I've wanted to do something...anything to keep occupied," said Ginny, shrugging her shoulders. "Maybe we've become accustomed to organized chaos now?"

"Maybe," said Hermione with a laugh.

They spent the rest of the day looking through Hermione's beaded bag and Ginny's own enchanted bag too. They retrieved the few items of uniform from the wardrobe and transfigured Hermione another working uniform, with hardly any effort. Stopping only for some lunch, courtesy of the Hogwarts' Elves once again, they gradually worked through everything they had.

When Hermione pulled out her notebook and was flicking a page to find the small map she had drawn of the position of Gaunt's shack, she stopped. "This feels like months ago when I drew this," she said.

Ginny looked over to her friend, as she stacked some of the books. "Every day in this place has felt like weeks and months."

"When I drew this, I never thought that Massey bloke would be a problem in the way that he was," said Hermione as she continued to look at her map. "We prepared as well as we could...everything, yet it still went slightly wrong."

"I suppose that proves to us, that you can't prepare for absolutely _everything_, but," Ginny sighed. "We prepared enough, so I knew what to do if we got separated."

"True. I will never know how you coped," said Hermione, before quickly adding, "I don't mean I didn't think you were capable. But it must have been so awful for you?"

"Well, we both got through it...somehow, and you're alive and well, that's all that matters," Ginny smiled.

After packing most of the things back into Hermione's beaded bag and deciding to be prepared again, with some clothes and items put into Ginny's bag too, they had a light dinner. Later as they cleared away the dinner things, Hermione yawned, for the first time since she had woken up.

"Goodness!" the brunette exclaimed as she failed to stifle another yawn.

"I think someone's tired," said Ginny. "To be honest, I am too. And if you keep yawning like that I'll start off." Ginny gave a huge yawn. "See? Just thinking about it has made me yawn!"

"I think I'll go take a bath, then go to bed, even if it's just to lie down," said Hermione.

"Okay," replied Ginny. "You go ahead. I'll finish up with things down here, then probably have a bath myself."

Hermione was about to go through the door from the kitchen to the hall, when she stopped, turned around and walked back to Ginny, who was turned away emptying the washing-up water from the kitchen sink.

"Ginny?" said Hermione, which made the redhead jump a little, but turn around. Hermione quickly leaned forwards and kissed the other girl softly on the lips. She pulled away again, smiling. "I just realized I hadn't kissed you since this morning."

"Well, it...I...it's...I...oh bugger it!" said Ginny, all flustered. "I wasn't expecting that."

"Didn't you want me to kiss you?" asked Hermione, nervously.

"No," said Ginny, then seeing Hermione frown. "No, I mean I like your kisses. It's just going to take me a while to get used to the fact that we can kiss now, and that it's not a dream or a...a joke...or something."

Hermione still looked a little unsure, so Ginny reached for her hands, clasping them in her own. "I liked the kiss," she said, looking into Hermione's eyes. "I liked the surprise of it too. I'll get used to it...I'll _enjoy_ getting used to it. After all, I was the one that said you didn't have to ask for kisses." She then leaned in and pressed her lips to Hermione's, gently yet with feeling. When she broke away again, she saw the brunette smile warmly, a smile that touched her eyes. "See you in a little while," she said, waving Hermione off towards the hall door again.

As Ginny put away the crockery and cutlery she couldn't help several thoughts from passing through her mind. _It's going to take a while to get used to kissing her...whatever I say about it, _she thought._ It's almost magical in itself. And when she kisses me, however small and simple it is, I feel so alive. I felt something similar with Harry, a pulling sensation in my chest. But with Hermione it feels like my heart wants to jump across from my ribcage to hers and she's affected every single part of me. I don't feel strange about sharing a bed with her at all now. I trust her. I would have trusted Harry too, despite that crazy dream about him nearly doing _it _with me. But it's like Hermione said, something about what I feel for her, is stronger._

She shook her head at herself for thinking too much. _One day at a time, and let things happen naturally, _she thought, before her mind went onto other issues.

Filling a couple of glasses of water, to take up for them for the night, Ginny made her way upstairs. She got her sleep things out ready, then sat back on the bed looking at the Muggle Seaside Towns book once more.

A short time passed and Hermione walked back into the bedroom, teasing out a knot from her hair. Ginny looked up from her book.

"Did you enjoy your bath?"

"Yes," said Hermione, but she couldn't stop another yawn.

"Will you stop that!" Ginny said laughing, as she yawned in sympathy. She picked up her sleep clothes and went to have her own bath.

Hermione got into bed, sitting up to take another look at Ginny's book, although she didn't take in many details, and was thinking. _I'm sure it will still feel strange, after everything we've said, but I'm glad we decided what we did_, she thought. _Lots of people might not think it's right, but it's nobody else's business, and it feels right to me. If it were totally wrong, I'm sure I would feel that. Anyway, we'll take it slow and just see what happens._

Ginny walked back into the room as Hermione was still reading the book. The brunette looked up and smiled. "Have a nice bath?" she asked.

Sliding into bed next to her, Ginny said, "Yes, I feel good, after that."

"You smell really good," said Hermione.

Ginny turned her head to look at her friend, taken by surprise again and not avoiding a blush. "Er...so do you," she managed to answer, suddenly feeling a little tense and almost unsure for some reason. _Don't be so silly! _she thought, _she was only giving me a compliment...a potentially sexy compliment, but basic all the same. I'll get used to it!_

"I'll dim the lamps now," said Hermione, as she saw Ginny get into bed and lie down. _She's feeling uncomfortable, _thought Hermione as she observed her friend, _I can sense it._

Hermione put the book onto her bedside cabinet, used her wand to dim the two lamps, then moved further down the bed, and turned so she faced Ginny. "Talk to me, Ginny," she said.

The redhead turned so she faced her friend, still wearing a blush, that was in danger of clashing with the colour of her hair.

"You're still feeling a little awkward, aren't you?" Hermione asked, softly.

"Not awkward," said Ginny. "Just...a little odd, I suppose. I don't know why."

"I meant what I said," Hermione told her, looking her in the eye. "I'll never pressure you. I'll never pressure you to do something or pressure you to think in some way."

"I know you wouldn't," answered Ginny. "And I wouldn't do that to you either."

"In a lot of ways, nothing has changed," said Hermione cheerfully. "Except that if you want to snuggle up to me to sleep, I can allow myself to enjoy it now!"

Ginny laughed, as did Hermione, and as if a spell had been lifted, it seemed to remove whatever awkwardness she had felt before, making her wonder why she even felt like that in the first place. As their laughter receded, Ginny looked into Hermione's face, and suddenly felt confident enough to reach over with her hand and cup her friend's cheek, before caressing the cheek with the back of her hand. Hermione got hold of Ginny's hand and brought it to her lips and kissed the palm. It sent a starburst of tingles up Ginny's arm and into her chest.

_Let things happen naturally_, Ginny thought again, _Right now the most natural thing I want to do is kiss her_. _**So do it! **_said her conscience. She moved her hand back to the soft skin of Hermione's cheek, before moving forwards and pressing her lips to Hermione's. The brunette put an arm around Ginny and let her hand rest in the redhead's beautiful, silky hair.

Their lips moved against one another, gentle pecks and firmer nibbles, and the kiss went on for a few minutes in that way. However, Hermione's eyes flew open when she felt Ginny's tongue push against her lips. Ginny felt Hermione pause and pulled back to look at her.

"Sorry," said Ginny, as she looked down unable to keep eye contact. "Too soon?"

Hermione placed her hand under Ginny's chin and raised her up to look at her again. "Don't be sorry," she said. "It was _my_ turn to be surprised. A nice surprise." _Hmm, I'd like some more of that, _thought Hermione. _I'm so glad she's feeling more relaxed again._

Looking at her friend, smiling and trying to convey warmth and not rejection, Hermione kissed her again. After a short time, she parted her lips and licked Ginny's lower lip. It caused Ginny to give a small moan, but she parted her own lips and let Hermione's tongue enter her mouth.

Ginny's tongue met Hermione's, pressing against it playfully, enjoying their deepened kiss immensely. Both young women were unable to suppress little moans, from pleasure and from amusement. The kiss lasted a little longer before Hermione gradually slowed her movements and left a lingering last kiss on Ginny's lips. They were both a little flushed from their activities, but both were smiling at the other.

"You need to sleep?" asked Ginny.

"Yeah," nodded Hermione. "Sorry."

"Don't be," said Ginny, almost reversing their roles. "I could do with some sleep too."

Hermione broke into a huge grin before she asked, "Would you like to snuggle tonight?"

Ginny nodded but could only manage to say, "Yeah."

Turning to lie on her back, Hermione opened her arm for Ginny to cuddle up to her, which the redhead did, laying her head mostly on Hermione's chest and shoulder. Ginny was still blushing, but she immediately felt comfortable as Hermione had an arm around her and she let her own arm lay across Hermione's waist; both jiffled a little to get absolutely settled, before closing their eyes.

Hermione couldn't resist placing a kiss on Ginny's forehead. "Night Ginny."

"Night."

Sleep came to both of them quickly, and as Ginny entered a dream, she was still aware of being close to Hermione and it made her feel confident to face whatever strange things her mind pushed at her..._zzzzzzz_

Ginny was walking along a corridor, and it looked like Hogwarts again. _Where am I going, now?_ she wondered as she dreamed.

She came to a staircase, not immediately recognizing it, but walked down it and then oddly found herself in the Entrance Hall. As usual with her dreams, places were not always that accurately represented compared to their real-life counterparts. Not seeing anyone else she turned and walked into the Great Hall.

As Ginny looked straight ahead her eyes fixed on the Teacher's Table at the end of the Hall. In the Headmaster's seat was Voldemort; to his left Bellatrix. The other seats at the table were taken by what looked to be Death Eaters, as Ginny noticed Lucius and Draco Malfoy sitting there.

"The blood-traitor comes here at last!" said Bellatrix, rubbing her hands together.

"So it would seem," said Voldemort in his smooth, even voice. "We've been waiting a long time for you. I don't like to be kept waiting."

"What?" was all Ginny answered. It was then she looked to the rest of the Hall. She had thought the four house tables had been covered with sheets, but now she looked at them, there were obvious body-shaped lumps under the sheets.

"You're the last one to come to me," said Voldemort. "I'll forgive that insolence if you kneel and pledge your loyalty to me."

"What?" said Ginny again. _Say something better than that!_ she admonished her dream-self.

"She's not worth the trouble my lord," said Bellatrix. "She's insulting you every moment she stands there and takes breath! Let me deal with her?"

"I'm a fair and noble lord," he said to Bellatrix. "I won't have it said that I never gave people a chance and a choice."

Ginny walked up to one of the House tables and lifted the sheet...she wished she hadn't. The grey cold face of Professor McGonagall stared up at her. Flinching back she moved to another table, not seeming to care that she was in the presence of Lord Voldemort. Lifting the sheet on the next table she saw Lupin and Tonks. _Stop looking!_ Ginny tried to tell her dream-self, _it won't help. Leave it well alone, you know what the tables hold now._

"You killed them all?" Ginny turned to face Voldemort and the Death Eaters, all sitting and observing her. "Oh yes, you _are_ fair and noble, aren't you!" _That's a bit more like it,_ she thought.

"I gave them the choice I give you," said Voldemort. "They chose their fate."

Looking around the Hall, Ginny could see each table was full of body-shaped lumps under the sheets. It was horrifying. "No one joined you, it seems?" she half-questioned the Dark Lord, sarcastically.

"You filthy bitch!" shouted Bellatrix, drawing her wand. "How dare you speak to the Dark Lord like that!"

"Bellatrix!" Voldemort said, in a raised voice. "She must choose, not you. If she chooses unwisely then I may give you the honour. Not until then."

Bellatrix bowed her head and then smiled broadly, almost wriggling in her seat like a child waiting for a birthday cake.

Ginny took another look around the Hall, then began to walk down the central aisle between the tables towards Voldemort. _What am I doing?_ she thought. _I'm not going to kneel, surely?_

"Am I the only one left?" she asked.

"At Hogwarts, you are the only one left who hasn't chosen. A few escaped before they chose, but all of those will be brought back here," said Voldemort.

Nodding, Ginny turned to look at the shrouded bodies on the tables again. _Don't turn your back on him, you idiot,_ she thought. The dream-Ginny put a hand in her pocket, her fingers immediately closing over the DA coin; an item which had been created what seemed like an eternity ago.

Gripping the coin hard, Ginny was aware she had, to all intents and purposes, activated it. _Why did I do that?_ _Everyone in the DA are dead under those sheets. Wait a moment...Hermione? How in seven hells did I not think of her?_

"Hermione," Ginny blurted out, as she turned back to the Dark Lord and his companions. "Hermione Granger, is she dead? Is she here?"

"The mudblood?" Voldemort said, not with pleasure, but with a twitch of annoyance. "She will be brought back here very soon."

"So you haven't killed her, then?" Ginny laughed loudly. _Even in my dreams Hermione can annoy the crap out of Voldemort and Bellatrix._

"My Lord, I must protest," said Bellatrix. "She not only insults you, she insults all of us. She's not going to join us...wouldn't want the bitch anyway...just kill her!"

"Patience," Voldemort said, then turned his attention back to Ginny. "You must choose, and now."

Ginny walked forward a couple of paces, still with her hand in her pocket. It was then she felt the DA coin become hot, almost burning her fingers. _The coins never went hot before,_ she thought as she dreamed. _Interesting where my brain came up with that?_

She looked at the Death Eaters seated at the table; Draco Malfoy looked away from her when she rested her eyes upon him and his gaunt-looking father never moved his head from apparently studying the contents of the goblet in his hand. There was Bellatrix sneering at her, with her fingers fondling her wand, ready to use it. And then she came back to the snaked-faced Voldemort.

Walking another pace towards the Dark Lord she put her weight forwards and bent a knee to kneel. _What am I doing? I can't kneel to that git! Even if it is a dream!_ she thought, annoyed.

She placed one hand on the ground to steady herself and the other hand she had taken from her pocket and placed on her ankle, where she removed her wand from her sock. _What was my wand doing in my sock, anyway?_

In a quick fluid movement, Ginny had drawn her wand and aimed a curse at Voldemort. But he was ready for her, standing up and firing a curse of his own at her; a line of bright light strung between their wands, joining their wands together. The power from the Dark Lord was making Ginny's arm shake, but she gritted her teeth and tried to push her curse towards him again.

Bellatrix had sprung to her feet and aimed her wand at Ginny, to strike her down, but Voldemort had waved a hand and the Lestrange woman's wand had flown out of her hand to the floor and she was pulled back by unseen magic to sit in her chair.

_I can't hold this_, thought Ginny as she dreamed, _it's making me feel weak just to dream it. _She was being pushed back, and after another minute or two of trying to keep the strength of her own curses going, she fell back to go down on one knee again. She could feel her wand arm being dragged down; any second, she knew, he would have her defeated and then finish her off. She clasped her other hand to her wand hand, hoping the extra support would give her a few more seconds of life.

As she felt the seconds tick by and her wand arm get heavier and heavier, she had to drop a hand back behind her as she was almost thrown backwards. Still she fought, and then something or someone held her wand hand and raised it back up for her, hauling her to her feet. A second line of light joined the fray and Voldemort was pushed back.

Ginny dared to glance to her side to see who was helping her. "Hermione?" she shouted, as she saw her friend beside her, fighting with her. It was then she felt a strange sensation course through her body and after the feeling had gone around her body, it seemed to shoot to her wand hand and it appeared to cause almost an explosion of light from her wand and from Hermione's wand next to her.

The light had blinded her, but when the normal light returned to the Hall, Voldemort was gone, leaving only a few scraps of robes scattered on the floor. The spell must have done something else, though, because the Death Eaters all looked stunned as if by the _petrificus totalus_ spell. Ginny and Hermione kept their wands pointed at the Death Eaters, when they both became aware of movement behind them. They turned to see the shrouded bodies on the tables, moving; the sheets were thrown back and everybody seemed to come back to life.

"What?" Ginny exclaimed. _That's nearly all you've said in this dream!_ she thought, amused to herself.

Turning she looked at Hermione, who gave her a warm smile and they embraced each other, hugging onto each other for dear life. _So apparently we're happy that the dead are moving, are we? _thought Ginny, bemused by her odd dream.

"Ginny?" said a voice. She let go of Hermione and they both turned to see George walking up to them and he had...Fred with him, very much alive. _What?_ she thought, as she dreamed. "Look who we found, sis," said Fred. The twins parted and behind them, Harry was standing looking at her, grinning and also very much alive..._zzzzzzz_

A sharp intake of breath and Ginny awoke. _Wishful thinking,_ she thought to herself, _Fred and Harry are gone. I don't think fighting You Know Who would ever be that simple either. I obviously fancy myself as some kind of hero. Stupid dreams! Why show me things I can't have? It does no one any good. What I wouldn't do to have Fred alive, and Harry..._

A tear rolled down her cheek, she moved a hand up to wipe it away, and gave a small sniff. It was then she fully remembered that she was virtually sleeping on Hermione. She slowly and gently moved her head, to look up to Hermione's face and was surprised to find her awake and looking back at her.

"Did I wake you?" asked Ginny.

"Not really, I'd woken up myself," said Hermione, "Bad dream?" she asked as she brushed some loose strands of Ginny's hair away from her face.

Ginny sighed and moved up the bed slightly to talk to her friend, as they turned to face each other, "I don't know. Sort of...nothing terrible." She got a flash of the images of Fred walking towards her with George and of Harry standing there too. It must have caused her to release another tear, as Hermione's thumb lightly brushed her cheek to wipe it away. "Everyone at Hogwarts was dead, and I had to choose whether I was going to kneel to You Know Who or join the bodies that lined the tables in the Great Hall, under sheets."

The redhead told Hermione all about the DA coin and that they had joined together and beaten You Know Who. It seemed they both thought that Hermione had been called to her and maybe the coin heating up had been the brunette's answering signal or something.

"When we beat Him, it must have broken a spell or whatever," said Ginny. "Because the bodies on the tables started moving and then George came up to us with Fred...and behind them was Harry. Both of them were alive! I know it's so stupid and surreal, I know it's a dream...I just...I just wish it were real," she sighed deeply. "To see them alive again...then to wake up and know it was only a dream...it's cruel."

"Of course you wish it were real," said Hermione, softly, as she wrapped an arm around Ginny. "I wish that too, more than anything."

"Did _you_ have any dreams?" asked Ginny, as she looked into Hermione's eyes.

Hermione shook her head slightly. "No, nothing I remember. I think your dreams have been bad enough for the both of us. But thinking to your dream just now, you can take some heart from it."

Ginny frowned. "How? It's all nonsense. It's just me wanting to kill You Know Who and hoping it would somehow reverse all those deaths."

"Maybe the exact details are nonsense," said Hermione. "But you still fought back. You thought you were going to be killed, but you didn't go meekly to You Know Who...you had a go at him. I think that's incredible...even in a dream."

"Hooray for dream-me!" said Ginny sarcastically, followed by a little derisive snort.

"Hey," said Hermione. "I mean it. You have such a fierce heart, Ginny." Seeing her friend frown, she added, "You fight for what you believe in. And I don't remember you shying away when we went to the Minstry on Thestrals a couple of years ago. You were there with us, figthting back even then. You're one hell of a witch." Hermione leaned over and placed a kiss on Ginny's cheek to emphasize that she meant what she said.

Ginny was lost for words, so predictably she blushed a little and couldn't look Hermione in the eye for a few moments.

"I think the Dumbledore here agrees with me too," said Hermione. "He's been impressed with you, since the moment he saw you when we arrived in Godric's Hollow."

Ginny was silent for a few moments again. "Sorry Hermione," she managed to say. "Unless it's about quidditch, I'm not very good at taking compliments. I tend to just squirm."

Hermione gave a soft laugh. "All right, I'll stop for now."

The redhead was able to look at Hermione again and smiled. "So what time it is?"

Sitting up a little and looking over to the clock for the time, Hermione said, "It's nearly half-past four."

"I slept longer than I thought," said Ginny, unable to stifle a yawn.

"Well, we have a few more hours yet," said Hermione. She jiffled a little and laid on her back again, getting hold of Ginny's hand and pulling her arm over her. Ginny shuffled up close to Hermione, with her head on the pillow this time, next to the brunette's, not wanting to wake Hermione by using _her_ as a pillow anymore that night.

Hermione turned her head, looked at Ginny and placed a small peck of a kiss on Ginny's lips. It made them both smile, and snuggle up a bit closer, before closing their eyes and waiting for sleep to take them to morning again.


	40. Movere

**A/N: I wouldn't touch their breakfast, personally, but they had to have something Hogwarts-ish in style. A bowl of cornflakes just wasn't going to work! :D**

40: Movere

Ginny awoke the next morning to find the bedroom quite light. For a few moments she had to remind herself of where she was and with whom. She moved her head and saw that she was alone in the bed. Stretching her arms, she then sat up and saw that the clock was showing nine o'clock.

_I've slept in late, it seems,_ she thought, yawning and rubbing her eyes. _I suppose Hermione is probably in the bathroom._

Swinging her legs over to the edge of the bed, Ginny got up and walked out onto the landing, listening to hear if Hermione was in the bathroom. However the bathroom door was open, and empty. _Hmm, Hermione must be downstairs already_, she thought as she decided to use the loo herself.

Once back in the bedroom, Ginny sat on the bed and looked through her clothes, to see what to wear. It was then she saw a flicker at the edge of her vision; turning her head, she saw Hermione enter the bedroom with a tray, another one floating out in front of her.

"Good morning!" Hermione said with a grin. "I heard you moving about so went ahead with breakfast."

"I didn't order room service?" Ginny laughed.

"Well you're getting it anyway!" said Hermione. "It was my turn. And it's a little thank you."

"For what?" Ginny said as she sat back on the bed and accepted her breakfast tray.

"For everything," said Hermione, as she sat beside her with her own tray. "For finding me, for helping me get here, for caring for me...everything."

"You would have done the same for me," Ginny said, feeling a little embarrassed again.

"True, but I can still say thank you, can't I?"

Ginny just smiled and nodded. On her tray was a plate of bacon and eggs with fried bread, and a mug of tea. "You must be feeling okay so far today, then?" asked Ginny.

Hermione swallowed a mouthful of tea before replying. "I feel as good as new this morning. In fact, better than I felt before I went off with Ron and Harry after Bill's wedding. And my period is definitely over...so everything is good."

"I'm pleased to hear that," Ginny answered. "This breakfast is lovely," she said as she enjoyed every mouthful.

A while later as they were finishing their mugs of tea, feeling a little full from the cooked breakfast, Hermione spoke again. "Ginny, how are you feeling?"

Ginny turned and looked at Hermione, wondering what she was referring to. "How do you mean?" she asked.

"Generally," Hermione said.

"Well, fine...the same as normal, I suppose."

"Would you be prepared for us to move to our next...place? Today?"

Pausing for a moment as she thought about the two of them moving on to 1945 and whether she was ready for the next challenge, or whatever it was that faced them, she then slowly nodded. "We might as well, if you're ready too?" she inquired.

"I feel ready today," said Hermione. "I love spending time here at this house and with you," she smiled at Ginny. "But this 1945 business feels like it's looming over us. I feel I want to get there and find out what we have to do next. We have to both feel ready to go, though. I'd understand if you wanted another day here?"

"Well, we'll be coming back here to the house once we arrive in 1945, so if all we were going to do was stay here, we might as well do that in 1945 instead," reasoned Ginny.

"So we'll go today then?"

"Yes, we might as well," replied Ginny. "How about before lunch even?"

Hermione smiled. "That would be good. I suppose it might play with our body clock, with the hours, but we'll get to that when we get to it."

XXXXXXXXXX

The next couple of hours were spent, getting dressed, packing everything and making sure they hadn't left anything anywhere. They had washed up the breakfast things and made sure everything was put back in its place.

"Where shall we do the...time thing?" asked Ginny as they stood in the kitchen. "In the churchyard, where we arrived?"

"I don't think we have to do that," said Hermione. "The house is warded, but we're able to Disapparate and Apparate from the back garden, for distances here, so we can use the Time-Turner from the back garden. We'll be leaving that way, but not facing the danger of trying to enter it from a different time zone."

"That saves some walking and muggle-dodging, anyway," said Ginny.

"Are we ready then?" Hermione asked.

"I think so, we've got everything."

Hermione walked up to Ginny and hugged her, before pulling back and then placing a soft kiss on her lips. "Let's go then," she said, smiling warmly, as she got hold of Ginny's hand and they walked through the scullery, out the back door and into the garden.

They stood a good way away from the house, as Hermione retrieved the Time-Turner from her beaded bag and placed the long chain around both their necks. So they could hold hands for the short journey to ensure they didn't get separated, Ginny held the Time-Turner in one hand, while Hermione pointed her wand at the instrument.

"Godric's Hollow churchyard, 2300 hours, 1st of May 1945," Hermione stated clearly, followed by "_Movere_."

A light shot out from her wand and touched the Time-Turner, immediately taking the two women on their journey. They both felt the same sensations as they had when they first used the device, but the journey seemed shorter, maybe because they knew what to expect. In a span of seconds their feet touched the ground with a slight _thud_.

It was dark and with their eyes quickly adjusting to the night, they could see the outline of the church and the gravestones and tombs around them. They seemed to have arrived not that far from the place they had first arrived and maybe that was in Hermione's mind when she spoke the spell.

Hermione removed the Time-Turner from their necks and placed it carefully into her beaded bag again. "Well," she said in a quiet voice. "Here we go again."

This time, they didn't need to skulk around in the shadows or wonder where they were, or worry about what they were doing there. They didn't know what Dumbledore wanted them to do next, but at least they knew where they were and where his house was.

Ginny linked her arm through Hermione's and they set off down the church path, beginning to make their way to Dumbledore's house. They didn't see anyone else as they walked through the village, nor did they hear any aircraft, enemy or allied, overhead. Their walk to the house was only punctuated by a dog barking in the distance, an owl hooting and some high-pitched squeaks from some bats. The dark didn't bother them and other than feeling a little cold, it was an uneventful walk.

After making their way through the village and along the road, which had seemed shorter than before as well, they finally stood on the doorstep of Dumbledore's house again.

"Great," said Ginny. "We have to deal with Humphrey again!"

Hermione looked at the phoenix door knocker, and decided to do the odd thing of stroking his beak. "Hello Humphrey," she said to it. "Remember us?" The door knocker didn't release the ring of the key or attempt to reply, but moved it's eyes from Hermione to Ginny.

Ginny laughed. "You don't think he's just going to cough up the key to you, because you're being nice?"

"It was worth a try," said Hermione. "Using spells on him seemed a bit blunt and harsh."

"He's a door knocker!" Ginny giggled. "He's made of iron...he's used to being blunt and harsh himself."

"Oh all right!" said Hermione, as she reached up to hold the knocker ring. "_Relashio_ Humphrey. We're Gryffindors. Dumbledore sent us here." The ring didn't move, even after Hermione scowled at the bird and yanked on the ring a few times.

"Let me try," said Ginny as she took hold of the ring. "Now, listen here pea brain; you either spit out that key or we'll tell Dumbledore that it might be better if he melted you down and turned you into a goblet. Now _RELASHIO!"_

Hermione wouldn't necessarily have thought of threats to get what she wanted, but she was amused to see Ginny pulling the key from Humphrey's beak.

"Dumbledore wouldn't do that, would he?" asked Humphrey, nervously.

"No idea, but at least you finally gave us the ruddy key!" said Ginny. "Didn't you recognize us?"

"Might have," said the door knocker.

"So why the delay?" Ginny asked.

"Old habits die hard," replied Humphrey.

"Will you show us the lock, please?" asked Hermione.

"I'm not 'sposed to," said Humphrey. "You have to find it yourself, prove who you are."

"You _know_ who we are!" said Hermione, losing patience herself, feeling cold and wishing they had worn coats when they had left. "We were here...two years ago. Dumbledore himself sent us here again, now please show us the lock." There was no answer. "Look," said Hermione. "If we're imposters then we won't be able to get in without being thrown out...remember?"

"Wellll," the door knocker thought. "It's highly irregular."

Ginny groaned. "_You'll_ be _looking_ highly irregular if you don't show us the lock!"

Humphrey moved his eyes from Ginny, back to Hermione and then decided he would co-operate.

The lock appeared and with a sigh of, "Finally," from Hermione, the two women unlocked the door and walked in. Ginny went in first and gave another fierce look to Humphrey as she passed him on her way indoors.

"You wanna be careful with that one," said Humphrey, as Hermione walked past the door, inside. "She's dangerous...oh yes, I know her sort." Hermione snorted with laughter and closed the door behind her.

Before Hermione and Ginny moved further into the house, Hermione performed the _homenum revelio _spell, just to make sure they had the house to themselves. She didn't want to walk in on Dumbledore or his brother without them knowing. There was no answer to the spell, so they went through to the kitchen and lit the lamps and the range stove.

Ginny took a quick look in the pantry and it seemed it was just as well stocked as before; so again their arrival had been catered for.

"This is going to feel odd for a time, now," said Hermione. "We left before lunch in 1943 and minutes later it's approaching midnight in 1945."

"Strangely, I do feel a little tired," said Ginny.

"It was making all those threats to Humphrey!" laughed Hermione.

"Stupid lump of metal he is!" said Ginny. "Hmm, so I'm thinking to have some supper, which is sort of like lunch, and maybe go lie down. See if we can get our minds around the hour changes."

"Sounds good to me," said Hermione. "I suppose we ought to get a message to Mrs. Dumbledore so we can arrange for Dumbledore to visit again?"

"Humphrey, then _her_? We're gluttons for punishment today?" said Ginny.

"How about, I go and talk to her and you get us some soup ready, there's usually a can of soup in the pantry?" suggested Hermione. "You spoke to Kendra a couple of times when I wasn't here, so it's time I caught up on turns."

"If you're sure you want to deal with her alone?" asked Ginny. "I can't imagine she'll be happy to get called in the middle of the night!"

"Tough! It's not like she needs the sleep!" said Hermione, as she walked back to the hallway to make her way upstairs.

Ginny walked into the pantry and found up a can of soup, like the one they had had the first day they were in Godric's Hollow in 1943. _It still feels months ago,_ she thought, as she found up the saucepan she wanted to use and other utensils. _And it feels like even more months since I was at the Battle at Hogwarts._

XXXXXXXXXX

Hermione wasn't looking forward to facing Dumbledore's mother, but the Dumbledore she knew would often be up late in his office, pacing around as he thought through various things; so the message should be pretty quick back and forth.

As all the times before, she walked up to the empty portrait in the third bedroom and called for Mrs. Dumbledore. "I need to talk with you, please?"

There was no answer, but Hermione wasn't going to give up and let the portrait snooze. "Hello, Mrs. Dumbledore? I need to talk with you," she called again. "Come on! I know you're there."

Finally there was a shuffling sound and Kendra Dumbledore moved into the frame. "Do you know what time it is?" she said in her usual haughty voice.

"Yes and I'm sorry, but I need you to take a message to Professor Dumbledore."

"I know you, don't I?" said Kendra as she studied Hermione.

Hermione had to stop herself for groaning, and only nodded. "I'm Hermione Granger, remember. I was here two years ago?"

"Oh?" said Kendra. "Oh yes! I remember."

"Who did you think it was? Merlin's girlfriend?" Hermione muttered under her breath, thankfully not heard by the occupant of the portrait. _Perhaps she _has_ been asleep?_ she wondered.

"Well, what's your message?" asked the prickly woman.

"Tell him, that Ginny and I have arrived and wonder when he can visit?"

"He can't just drop things and go gallivantly around the country, you know!"

Hermione gritted her teeth. "We know that, but he told us we had to meet once we arrived. So, if you'd be so good as to pass on our message and let me know when he can visit, please?"

Kendra stared at Hermione again. "It just so happens, that despite the late hour, my son is awake." Then she made an audible sniff and wandered out of the frame again.

_I see she hasn't mellowed much in two years!_ thought Hermione as she sat on a chair and waited. _Two years since we were here last...yet it was barely an hour ago to Ginny and me. Time is not making any sense to me now. Days feel like months and years can truly be only minutes or seconds!_

She was still deep in thought about travelling with the Time-Turner and wondering on the actual time they had been away from Hogwarts, when she heard movement from the picture frame again. Looking up she saw Kendra walk into the frame again, so she got up and stood in front of her.

"Miss Granger, my son will gladly see you tomorrow morning. It will be early at eight o'clock sharp."

"Thank you, Mrs Dumbledore," said Hermione.

"If that's all...," the woman said, "...some of us would like some rest." With that, she swept out of the frame leaving the scene of an empty high-backed chair once more.

Hermione shook her head, half amused and half frustrated with how obstructive the Dumbledore woman could be. The woman had bordered on being nice, from what Ginny had told her, but it seemed two years had made her standoffish again.

Once back in the kitchen, Ginny served up the soup for them and they sat and ate. "So how was Mrs. Noble-Pants tonight?" asked Ginny.

"Her Royal Haughtiness was a pain in the arse, if you must know," said Hermione.

Ginny laughed. "Sorry you faced her alone. Did you get your message to Dumbledore, though?"

"After much faffing about, yes," said Hermione, as she dipped some of her bread in her soup. "Dumbledore will be here at eight o'clock tomorrow morning."

"That's early."

"I suppose he'll be here and back around breakfast at Hogwarts."

"A good idea to try and get some rest, whether we can sleep or not, then?" suggested Ginny.

"I agree. Although I think I'll be hanging on every word the man says, no matter how tired I might be, because I want to know just what else he's going to get us to do."

"I'm trying not to think about it," said Ginny. "I don't actually have a clue what it might be anyway."

They finished up their soup, had their now mandatory cup of tea, used some magic to wash up the items they had used, before pouring out a glass of water each and making their way upstairs.

Both of them took turns to freshen up in the bathroom, neither wanting to have an actual bath as it was the early hours of the morning, even if to them it should have felt like the afternoon.

When Ginny got back from the bathroom, Hermione was sitting up in bed looking at one of her books from her bag. "Anything interesting?" she asked.

Hermione looked up and smiled. "Not very. I was looking at a couple of the magical history books I have. Just flicking pages really."

"So you haven't come up with a theory for why we're in 1945, then?" smirked Ginny.

"No," said Hermione. "We'll find out in a few hours anyway." She slapped the book closed and put it on her bedside cabinet, then she looked over to Ginny. "Can I have a hug?"

Ginny was slightly surprised and felt annoyed at herself for feeling surprised. _I've been kissing her, for Merlin's sake, of course I can hug her!_ she thought. She smiled back. "You don't have to ask," she told Hermione, as they turned and wrapped their arms around each other, resting their chins on each other's shoulders.

"Well I didn't just want to make a grab for you," chuckled Hermione, as she inhaled the scent of Ginny's hair. _Bugger, I'm doing that smelling thing again,_ she thought, wanting to laugh.

Both of them let their hands gently roam the other's back, with Ginny letting her hand smooth over Hermione's hair, playing with the strands. After a little while they moved back and looked into each other's eyes and Ginny leaned forward and captured Hermione's lips with her own.

They let what had started as a simple kiss, deepen and Hermione slid her hand from Ginny's cheek into her red hair, letting the strands glide over and between her fingers.

Their kiss was slow and their tongues gently played with each other, probing, tasting, exploring. Breaking the kiss with the need for air, both of them taking shallower breaths, Hermione left a delicate trail of kisses from Ginny's lips to her chin and along her jaw and then licked and kissed an earlobe. It made Ginny utter a funny noise, a mixture of a moan a squeak and a giggle. Chuckling herself, Hermione left a caressing kiss on Ginny's lips before sitting back again.

"That was more than a hug," said Hermione, beaming.

"Err," was all Ginny could manage to say and yet again she was blushing. _Great, I've lost the ability to speak again!_ she thought.

"I'm not complaining that it was more than a hug!" said Hermione.

"Err...," Ginny uttered once more, then frowned, but at herself. "Argh! I've...I can't seem to speak any sense!"

Hermione could see the difficulty and possible embarrassment from Ginny. "I'm so good, that I make you speechless?" asked Hermione, making a show of mock pride. _Making someone speechless from kissing them feels oddly wonderful, _she thought.

"Apparently," said Ginny, still red-cheeked.

Hermione slid down into the bed and laid on her left side, then she reached for Ginny's hand and tugged on it for her to join her. Lying side by side and facing each other, Hermione touched Ginny's cheek with her right hand, letting her thumbs and fingers gently hold and caress the flesh.

"Don't be embarrassed," said Hermione. "When you kiss me, I have a lot of...sensations whizz around my body too. It happened in the dreams as well, although I have to say the real you is an even better kisser than the dream version."

Yet again Ginny could feel her cheeks go hot. "I'm sorry, all I do is blush and then go silent on you." Ginny was amazed that she was able to form that coherent sentence. _For goodness sake! It's not like I've never been kissed before!_ she thought, irritated.

"Did Harry make you blush a lot?" Hermione asked in a soft voice. _I think I want to know that, _she thought, _if she only goes like that for me, that's...it's cute!_

"After the first couple of times he kissed me, not really...unless we were interrupted by my idiot brothers!" Ginny sighed. "I mean, it's not like I haven't been kissed before...but with you...I don't know, I just seem to go a bit...well...daft."

Hermione smiled. "Don't worry about it," she told Ginny. "Besides, it's sort of nice if you only go 'daft' for me." _That weirdly _does_ feel nice to know that! _she thought, as she stroked Ginny's cheek affectionately again. "Did Harry give you any compliments or talk about the two of you, much?"

"Hmm, I have to say that Harry wasn't the most talkative boyfriend I've ever had, so I don't remember him saying anything that made me blush...not much anyway," said Ginny, thoughtfully.

"I don't think many men say much in those situations. Viktor Krum wasn't all that talkative either," said Hermione with a crooked smile.

"So you _did_ kiss him, then?" asked a very interested Ginny. "I assumed it was so, but you never did really confirm it to me."

"Yes, and sometimes in the library too!" said a wide-eyed Hermione. "I think I would have left the country had Madam Pince found us or someone else had!"

"What was he like? As a kisser, I mean?"

"Average," said Hermione with a laugh. "He had wandering hands too."

"Is he on the list of people who have felt-up your backside?" asked Ginny as she briefly reached a hand over and patted Hermione's hip, indicating her rear.

Hermione nodded. "I think I might soon have to have a list of people who haven't had a hold of it instead," she laughed. "He got slightly further than Ron has."

Ginny's eyes opened wide. "He _did_?"

Seeing the almost horrified look on Ginny's face, Hermione quickly answered. "Nooo, not that much 'further'. Nowhere near that! No one, including Ron, has got me anywhere near it...that's the truth, like I told you before. Viktor just used my chest as a place to rest his hand a couple of times...until I moved it."

"Oh," Ginny answered grinning; she would have admitted to feeling relieved with that knowledge.

Aware of the change in Ginny's expressions, Hermione held her hand again. _If Viktor put his hand on my chest and I didn't know him all that well, then Ginny..., _her thoughts drifted off, coming to a decision. "I suppose it was nothing by the standards of some people today. All he did was this," she said, as she moved Ginny's hand over to rest it on her right breast, covered only by the T'Shirt she wore.

It took the redhead by surprise and she found herself taking in a little sharp breath and holding it. She wanted to take her hand away, feeling awkward and odd once more, but she didn't.

Hermione smiled warmly at her and she placed her hand over the top of Ginny's as it rested on her breast. "You can breathe, Ginny," she said.

"Huh? Oh!" said Ginny, realizing she had been holding her breath. She still didn't remove her hand; she was captivated by the warmth radiating into her palm, and the soft yet firm flesh beneath the T'Shirt. It was then that Hermione gently squeezed Ginny's hand so that the redhead was holding her breast more.

"Am I making you uncomfortable?" asked Hermione as she watched Ginny.

"Not...not really," Ginny replied. "It's just...I dreamt of something similar. I don't know if I'm awake or asleep to be honest," she chuckled.

Hermione leaned over and kissed Ginny, after a few moments she said cheerfully, "You're not asleep."

"It seems not," Ginny replied, as she looked at her hand as it held Hermione's clothed breast.

Suddenly feeling very bold and very inquisitive, Ginny leaned over to Hermione and kissed her. She deepened the kiss and at the same time she dared to gently knead the part of Hermione she held, lightly rubbing the fabric of the T'Shirt over the area, something she hadn't appeared to have had the guts to do in her dreams.

Things must have been all right, as Hermione wasn't stopping her and had uttered a little noise of pleasure. It was almost immediately when Ginny attained for certain what she had been wondering about, as she felt Hermione's nipple harden under the T'Shirt and her touch. It was a marvellous feeling to both Ginny and Hermione.

_I never thought a simple touch could feel so amazing, _thought Hermione, enjoying the sensations.

_I might never have done this in my dreams, _thought Ginny, _but I've felt the real thing now, and it's incredible. I sound so ridiculous, as it's very VERY tame, but it _does _feel wonderful to touch her like this. I think she's enjoying it too. I know I've seen her breasts naked and sort of touched them, but I was nervously restrained then...but now, this is better than that, even if a T'Shirt separates me from bare skin._

Breaking the kiss, Ginny looked into Hermione's eyes, smiling, as she lightly rubbed a thumb once or twice over the hardened flesh pressing up against Hermione's clothing. "I wondered what that would feel like," said Ginny, emphazising what she meant by stilling her hand over the area of Hermione's nipple.

Hermione wanted to close her eyes and just enjoy the sensations that every movement of Ginny's hand or thumb brought her. "Now you know. Although when you...when you used the dittany on me the other night, it happened then."

"Umm...I sort of noticed," said Ginny in a quiet voice.

"I thought you had!" laughed Hermione. "There was me, babbling on about how cold it was!"

Ginny got hold of Hermione's hand and rested it against her own left breast. "You've got me like that, without even touching me there," said a blushing Ginny, as she knew that Hermione would feel her hardened nipple against her palm through her T'Shirt.

Hermione looked into Ginny's eyes again and saw the nervousness and the shyness still there, so she leaned in and kissed her softly, as she lightly moved her hand over the girl's breast. They both gave little moans as they kissed. There was no urgency or wanton actions, just the sweetest of moments.

Both women knew that they wanted more, something just out of reach, but that it wasn't the right time for either of them. It was all so new to both of them and it was almost as if they wanted to just savour the simplicity of their new relationship. Releasing each other from their kiss, with a lingering last tug on the other's lips, they laid back and looked at one another.

"You've made me sleepy," said Ginny, after a long silence, where all they did was smile and look into each other's eyes.

"My kisses send you to sleep?" Hermione joked.

"You've made me really relaxed, is what I mean," said Ginny, grinning.

"I'm glad," said Hermione. "I want you to always feel relaxed around me. You don't have to be shy or nervous." She yawned. "I have to say I'm sleepy too, now."

"Perhaps we should set an alarm for seven o'clock?" suggested Ginny.

"Good idea," said Hermione, as she retrieved her wand from under the pillow and pointed it towards the clock on the dressing table. "Done," she said, before dimming the lamps.

Without voicing anything, Ginny cuddled up to Hermione, knowing that she didn't have to ask or suggest what she wanted to do and as Hermione settled down she was happy to observe it and enjoy the closeness.

**A/N: The next chapter will reveal some answers as to why they're in 1945. :) I'll try not to keep you waiting too long for it. **


	41. A Little Insurance

**A/N: A few answers as to why the girls are in 1945. :) **

41 A Little Insurance

Ginny awoke with a start, her eyes flicking open unsure as to why she had been woken up. She saw that she was lying up close to Hermione still, trailing an arm over her. Hermione had stirred and woken up too. Then they heard something that might have disturbed them from their sleep.

_MOOOOOOO MOOOOOOO_

"Hermione? Have we got a cow in the garden?" Ginny asked sleepily.

Hermione laughed. "It's the alarm for us to wake up."

"A _mooing_ alarm? Why a mooing alarm?"

"I don't know. I just thought it was an unusual sound we wouldn't expect and made sure we woke up," said Hermione, as she flicked her wand in the direction of the clock to stop the alarm sounding. "It's worked hasn't it?"

Ginny laughed and made to move and begin their day, when something else came to her mind. "I don't remember dreaming," she said. "Did _you_ dream?"

"No, I don't think so," said Hermione, as she sat up and stretched her arms a little.

"That makes a nice change," said Ginny. "I suppose you..._relaxing_ me, might have helped."

As Ginny was about to turn and get out of bed, Hermione got hold of her arm and pulled her back, before leaning over and placing a soft kiss on her lips. "You relaxed me too," said Hermione grinning. "We must be good for each other."

This was a cue for Ginny to blush and find no words to answer with, initially. Finally she found the words to say something, as Hermione was thinking how cute it was that she could make Ginny blush so much. "If we can stop our bad dreams, then I'll kiss you more often!" said Ginny.

"I won't complain," said Hermione with a crooked smile, as she let Ginny get up.

Deciding to freshen up in the bathroom first, Ginny picked out some clothes, which included a pair of Ron's jeans which she transfigured. Altering clothes was something they both found easy to do now. A very brief thought on her brother crossed her mind. _I've been kissing his girlfriend,_ she thought. _I know it should feel wrong on so many levels...but the truth is, it doesn't feel wrong...strange, but not wrong._ She sighed to herself and continued with her ablutions.

Hermione got together some of her own clothes for the day. _I so hope Ginny doesn't have anymore bad dreams,_ she thought. _It would be wonderful, whatever the reason, if they _have _stopped. I don't care about whether _I _get them, but she's had them nearly every time she's slept. I don't know how she's coped. She's amazing._

Both of them had a small breakfast of tea and toast, feeling apprehensive about Dumbledore's impending visit, wondering what they were required to do next.

As they washed up their plates and cups from breakfast, Dumbledore walked through into the kitchen at eight o'clock on the dot. "Good morning," he said cheerfully. "And hello again!"

To Hermione and Ginny, it had only been a day or so since they had last seen the Professor, but to Dumbledore he hadn't seen them for over two years.

"Cup of tea, sir?" asked Ginny.

"Yes, thank you," said the wizard. "Milk..."

"One sugar?"

"Yes, well remembered," Dumbledore smiled.

They went and sat in the sitting room, as was usual when they had visits with Dumbledore and made themselves comfortable as Ginny set down the cup of tea on a side table.

"No problems in getting here?" asked Dumbledore.

"It went smoothly, sir," said Hermione. "Although Humphrey was a little awkward."

"You got into the house, that's the main thing."

"Yes, eventually," said Hermione, deciding not to tell Professor Dumbledore that Ginny had threatened the door knocker with being melted down into a goblet.

Ginny and Hermione sat on the sofa and both were sitting forwards on the edge of their seat, expectant, without really knowing that they were showing such outward signs of their desire for answers.

Dumbledore gave them both a warm smile. "Now, I imagine you would like to know why you are here and not back at Hogwarts yet? _Your_ Hogwarts, I mean."

Hermione nodded. "Yes."

"You could say this next..._requirement,_ only came into play if you succeeded in obtaining the Resurrection Stone Ring. The me in 1943 only knew to send you to here if you obtained the Ring, I didn't know then what awaited you here."

Ginny glanced at Hermione, wondering if she was following the information so far. The brunette nodded back to her and they continued to focus on Dumbledore again.

"You could say this is a little insurance," said the wizard. "Although I actually believe it will probably be needed whatever the case."

In her impatience Hermione couldn't stop herself from butting in. "What will be needed, sir?"

Dumbledore held up a hand, but showing no irritation he said," Patience, I am getting to the part you need to know." He took a sip of tea, before continuing. "We would like you to carry out something similar to switching the Ring."

"We don't have to go back to that Gaunt bloke, do we?" asked a horrified Ginny; at the mention of the name she could feel Hermione tense.

"No, no. Gaunt is no longer there. Anyway," said Dumbledore, not seeming to want to stay on the subject of Morfin Gaunt. "We would like you to obtain Helga Hufflepuff's Cup."

"Hufflepuff's Cup?" said Hermione. "It...it was a horcrux. Ron and I destroyed it."

"You did? Well done," said Dumbledore, as he looked over the top of his half-moon spectacles. "Again, it's an item we would like to have before it becomes a horcrux."

"We had to find it in Bellatrix Lestrange's vault at Gringotts," said Hermione. "I don't know how long she'd had it. Before we went to her vault, when we were captives at the Malfoys...she used the _Cruciatus_ curse on me...she...she seemed very agitated that we might have been in her vault already. I don't think she knew the Cup was a horcrux, but she knew it was very valuable to You Know Who."

"Tom has never been very good at trusting people," said Dumbledore. "It's amazing that he even handed over the cup to her at all, but I assume he trusted Gringotts more and even then not enough to reveal what the cup meant to him." He considered Hermione a moment. "Might I ask, how you got access to her vault?"

"Well, to cut a very long story short," said Hermione. "We had help from a goblin we saved from the Malfoys. And...I used some polyjuice potion and impersonated Bellatrix."

"You did _what_?" an astonished Ginny asked, as she whipped her head around to stare at her friend.

"I happened to have a hair of hers and we had her wand too," said Hermione in a quiet voice, that seemed to get quieter as she continued. "I'm still using it, actually, because mine was taken."

Ginny stared at Hermione, with her mouth slightly open, wanting to say something, but not managing to make a sound.

"Are you really?" Dumbledore asked. "Might I have a look?"

Hermione handed over the wand she only despised when she thought of its previous owner, but which she had learned to use and rely on nearly as competently as her old one. She had taken to thinking of herself actually having won it, because Bellatrix didn't break her and they all escaped her; to Hermione that was a victory. Since she had adopted that way of thinking the wand responded better to her. She had shaped it a little and had bent it back to a more straight shape, rather than the curving talon shape it had been used to assuming. Unexpectedly, it had straightened for her, despite Ollivander stating it was 'unyielding' in so many ways.

"You never said anything?" Ginny asked, taken aback.

"No, because I've had to try and forget whose wand it was, otherwise I want to shudder," replied Hermione. "It's responding to my use, and for now it's good enough. It never came up in conversation...not directly. Didn't you notice it wasn't mine when you found it in the churchyard?"

"No," said Ginny. "Amittedly I was a bit stressed and tired at the time, but also I summoned your wand with the _Accio_ spell and it came to me. I said '_Accio _Hermione's wand'...so I didn't find anything odd about it. I suppose that means, it really _is_ your wand now?"

"Well, well, that _is_ interesting," said Dumbledore, as he handed the wand back to Hermione. "A wand that has no doubt been used for so much evil has found a home with a witch with an opposite personality. And that person being the one it had recently been used to torture through its previous owner." He briefly seemed to be deep in thought, staring off at nothing before coming back to the present. "Anyway, I believe you were telling me how you got into the Lestrange vault?"

"I drank the polyjuice potion and we had some old, slightly creepy robes, which were close to what Bellatrix would wear. Anyway, it wasn't as wonderful and clever as you might think, even though Harry was under his Cloak with the goblin and Ron was disguised. There's a full-proof mechanism at Gringotts to remove all enchantments, so I went back to looking like me sooner than I hoped. The vault was enchanted so everything we touched multiplied and was scolding hot. Then the goblin double-crossed us and we only got out on the poor old dragon the goblins had cruelly kept tethered and tortured down there for decades."

"The dragon rumour was _true_?" asked Ginny.

Hermione nodded. "Anyway, that's how we got the Cup. I'm not exactly sure where it was before Bellatrix had it."

Dumbledore was entertained greatly by what Hermione had told him. He wasn't entirely surprised by the ingenuity shown by her, or by her friends. His future self had told him what amazing teenagers, Harry, Ron and Hermione were, but he was still impressed nonetheless.

"I believe Harry knew whom the owner of the Cup was before Tom acquired it," said Dumbledore. "He was shown a memory in the pensieve. Did he mention it at all?"

Hermione thought hard over the things Harry had told herself and Ron and what he knew about the Cup. She thought she remembered some of it. "Oh yes! Didn't You Know Who kill the owner?"

"Yes, he did and will do and he'll use such a method that the blame falls onto the woman's house-elf, even the house-elf will believe it's responsible," answered the wizard.

"Smith, was her name," said Hermione, as her mind tried to remember the details. "Riddle visited her a lot...softening her up a bit to get some sort of deal done, never dreaming she had something as grand as the Cup, until he saw it." Then she remembered all of it. "Just a moment!" she exclaimed. "That woman had the Locket too! Do we have to get that as well?"

"No, we don't need the Locket," said Dumbledore. "But yes, Hepzibah Smith had possession of the Cup and the Locket, and yes, Tom did visit her a lot while working for Borgin & Burkes. Once he saw the Cup and Locket, he wanted them. Her death created the Cup horcrux."

"Does that happen this year?" asked Ginny, still a little shocked by everything she was hearing. Just when she thought she had an understanding of what she was involved in, something else incredible made her stunned again.

"I'm told it happens next year, in 1946," replied the wizard. "But, we wanted to give you plenty of time before Tom becomes aware of the woman and to give you time for the situation you will need to enter. Also, with the muggle War still just going on, you can move about like you did before with not too many questions. Although, most of your future actions will be fine in your ordinary attire."

"So, where does the Smith woman live?" asked Hermione.

"Here is the crux of the matter. Not the horcrux," said Dumbledore, with the slightest of chuckles. "But one of the problems. At this point in time we're not sure exactly where she lives. She wasn't one to mix with a lot of people, not even the few extended family members she had left. She never had many visitors at all, which is why her liking for Tom was all the more tragic. The only people with regular contact with her at this time, were the associates of Borgin & Burkes."

Hermione had begun to put all the information together and had reached a conclusion which she wasn't entirely happy with. "Are you saying we have to go shopping in Knockturn Alley, by any chance?"

Dumbledore looked over his spectacles at her again, his eyes twinkling. "In a manner of speaking."

"Can you clarify it a bit more, sir?" Hermione inquired further.

"You will need to convince perhaps one or two people, that you are interested in that kind of...well, merchandise. That you have an interest in the darker arts of magic or rarer parts. If you can be convincing enough, then..."

"Then we might be given the contact information of Hepzibah Smith?" asked Ginny, who was also catching on fast.

"Hepzibah has never exactly been a dark witch, but she has always had an obsessive interest in rare magical artefacts and antiques, some rare muggle items too, anything with some impressive provenance. A place like Borgin & Burkes doesn't just deal in Dark Arts, they also deal in other rare items, including muggle artefacts...things that they wouldn't want everyone knowing about, because they would find explaining how they came by them extremely awkward indeed."

"Stolen goods as well as prohibited items?" asked Hermione.

"Precisely," said Dumbledore.

"So, we have to convince people when we're in Knockturn Alley, that we belong there and that Borgin & Burkes would find us convincing enough to give us a client's address?" asked Ginny.

"Wouldn't it be better if we had something to...actually _deal_ with?" asked Hermione. "Something to show Borgin & Burkes that would look like we were dealing in the kind of thing they were interested in?"

"Which is why I brought these," said Dumbledore, as he pulled out a small pouch from his robes. The pouch must have been enchanted like Ginny and Hermione's bags, as he pulled out a very ancient-looking, black-bound book; what looked like a skeleton's hand; a large round stone egg-shaped object and a gold cup.

"The Cup!" Hermione said. "That's the copy, then?"

"Yes, because you will need something to swap with the original, so that Tom will still desire it," said the wizard. "And you can still find it to destroy, in your own timeline with Ron. It's identical to the original, or so I'm told. These other items might possibly be looked down upon as poor goods, but the point is, you look interested in that kind of item. The book is incredibly old and contains very old spell formulations, nothing particularly dangerous; the hand is a helpful additive to potion making, and helps the darker kind of potions and the round item is a dragon's egg, ossified by age. A lot of people believe they have hidden powers, but if in doubt it makes a good doorstop," he laughed. "However, the most important item _is_ the cup, for you to hopefully swap with Hepzibah's."

"The woman will still be killed, won't she?" asked Ginny.

"I'm afraid so," said Dumbledore. "I think you know how all of this works now and unfortunately we can't change her fate."

Ginny nodded glumly, hating to be reminded about the power they had and also the helplessness it made them feel.

"From this, I'm gathering that we stay as WAAFs in the muggle world, but become witches again when we're in Diagon and Knockturn Alleys?" asked Hermione.

Dumbledore nodded. "Yes. You can stay at The Leaky Cauldron this time, and despite what you might think, they are used to seeing their customers in muggle uniform."

"They are?" asked a surprised Hermione. "We didn't go in there before...I mean in 1943 when we Apparated near there, because I thought we'd get too much attention from the way we were dressed."

"It might surprise you to know," said Dumbledore. "That there are many magic folk assisting the muggle world with their horrendous war in any way they can. Helping with magic in a way that isn't noticed, but helping all the same."

Hermione's mind had run away momentarily and an image and story she had known about and had been mesmerized by from World War Two, suddenly came to mind. It was the famous photo of St. Paul's Cathedral standing, viritually untouched amongst fire, rubble and thick smoke. It had had a group of volunteers working day and night to protect it from the bombing and incendaries raining down on it and the buildings next to it, during a particularly bad night of bombing.

"Sir?" Hermione began. "The awful bombing and fires at the end of December 1940, where miraculously St. Paul's Cathedral survived? I know there were lots of people watering areas and dousing incendaries, but did...,"

"We have had a person close to Prime Minister Winston Churchill since he took the position and Mr. Churchill was adamant that night, that the Cathedral should be saved at all costs," Dumbledore said. "It was seen as a beacon of hope to the people, much like Hogwarts has been to you and your generation in your own time. So, yes, we helped. I am told the muggles were magnificent that night, but a few shield charms undoubtably helped too."

Ginny had been listening and watching the exchange between Hermione and the professor and promised herself that she would definitely read more about muggle history when she got the chance.

"So," said Ginny, trying to get the conversation back to their task. "We can stay at The Leaky Cauldron?"

The wizard nodded at her. "It will prove useful for you to have easy access to both worlds, so to speak." He then produced what looked like a purse from under his robes. "I have brought you some money," he said, handing the purse to Ginny. "You will have requirements and to play your part you will have to appear as though you have enough 'means' to deal with. It's much harder to transfigure money into galleons, sickles and knuts. As you can imagine, if it was easy then every witch or wizard would be incredibly rich. Most who try only become rich in Leprachaun gold terms, however."

The purse didn't feel particularly heavy in Ginny's hand, but opening it slightly she saw a lot of gold glinting back at her. "Wow, that's...that's substantial," she said.

"I think that's about all I can tell you, for now," said Dumbledore. "As before you will have to devise your own way of obtaining information and if you can actually meet with Hepzibah you will have to work out a way to swap the Cup."

The wizard rose to his feet, the two girls doing the same, as they followed him through to the kitchen.

"You're welcome to stay here as long as you like, but I'm sure you'll want to get started on this new job as soon as you can," said Dumbledore.

"If we succeed, do we come back here and talk with you again?" asked Hermione.

"Even if you do not succeed, come back here and arrange another meeting with me," he said. "And now I must go." Dumbledore shook hands with both of them, and rested a hand on their shoulders. "Good luck," he said cheerfully, as he walked out of the kitchen, through the scullery and outside to Disapparate from the garden.

Hermione and Ginny sat at the kitchen table after the professor had gone. "This is almost a déja vu, isn't it?" said Hermione.

"Yeah," replied Ginny, as she rested her head on her hands, leaning her elbows on the table. "BUGGER!" she suddenly exclaimed.

"What?"

"Do you realize, he still didn't tell us why we had to get the Ring? And all we know about this new thing is something about it being 'insurance'," said an agitated Ginny.

"I didn't ask," said Hermione. "I didn't think he would have told us. Not at the moment, anyway."

"You nearly died trying to get that Ring, who knows what we'll be dealing with next...and if we're literally dealing with Borgin & Burkes then it's not going to be completely safe...yet, he still doesn't tell us _why_ we're risking our necks?"

"Like I said before we got the Ring, maybe telling us the details would put too much pressure on us, if we knew the purpose of it," offered Hermione.

"We know the Resurrection Stone can bring back the dead," and when Ginny saw Hermione frown and shake her head, she added, "All right, it _sort of_ brings back the dead, it's a Hallow and possibly has some other unknown mystical wotsit power to it, but the Cup? I didn't know anything about Helga Hufflepuff having a golden cup?"

"We didn't either, until Harry told us about it from a memory Dumbledore showed him."

"So what does it do?"

"No idea," sighed Hermione.

"Maybe it's to drink a toast from, after we beat You Know Who?" said Ginny grinning. "Okay, that's a bit optimistic...perhaps...,"

"On the bright side we can stay at The Leaky Cauldron," said Hermione. "It's a bit more in our comfort zone."

"But you're fine in the muggle world?" questioned Ginny, puzzled by her friend's sentence.

"I'm fine in _our_ muggle world, but dressed as a WAAF in the 1940s, I'm not comfortable at all!"

"Oh...point taken."

"We'll still have to be really careful, though," said Hermione. "We can't let our guard down, just because we're back in the magic world. In fact, it's potentially more dangerous."

"I'm good at being paranoid now, so I think I'll cope," chuckled Ginny.

"So, when should we go to The Leaky Cauldron and begin this thing?"

"We might as well go tomorrow," said Ginny. "Unless you want to wait longer?"

"No, I'm all for getting things started."

"On the plus side, we'll get a taste of butterbeer again."

"I thought you were liking shandy, these days?" asked an amused Hermione.

"I do, but it will be nice to have some familiar things again."

"Hopefully, having a proper day here, getting some sleep tonight and then moving on tomorrow morning, should get our body clocks back in step."

"I'm thinking that today, we should check the uniforms properly and whether we need to make extra bits and pieces, just in case," suggested Ginny, trying hard not to think on the reason why they needed to make Hermione new uniform clothes after last time. "And we'd better check on the money Dumbledore gave us."

"Yes. Well, we won't need to take lots of food...we'll be near to plenty of it. I'll take the flasks of tea, though."

Ginny nodded her agreement to that. "I know we only recently packed everything up, but we might as well make a start on checking the uniforms and who has what?" she asked.

Hermione gave a nod and rose from the table, and she and Ginny made their way back to the sitting room to begin planning their next move.

It felt like a regular routine now, with Hermione surrounded by piles of books and other items from her beaded bag, as she made sure to get every piece of uniform out, requiring her to unpack some other things. This time Ginny joined her and they split up some more of the items, so that Ginny had some extra items in her own bag.

They looked over their WAAF uniforms, truly hoping that they would only have to wear them a couple more times and were looking forward to wearing ordinary clothes in the magical world. It would also be nice not to have to lug around gas mask bags. Hermione made sure to alter her WAAF shoes this time, so when she had to wear them her feet weren't so irritated by them.

Stopping for an enjoyable lunch, they carried on with their sorting until everything had been put back into either Hermione's or Ginny's enchanted bags. Using clothing items of Ron's they made an extra WAAF shirt and trousers, which would fit either of them. They decided that Hermione would have the pouch containing the dubious items Dumbledore gave them to deal with and the fake Cup, in her beaded bag.

Both women had been kneeling side by side on the floor as the few unpacked items had surrounded them, and after Ginny put the final book back into her bag she sighed, then stretched out her neck and shoulders.

"That's all ready, then," Ginny said, unable to stop a yawn.

"Don't start yawning!" said Hermione, as she became infected and yawned herself.

"So I'm guessing we wear the horrid uniforms to arrive at The Leaky Cauldron tomorrow?"

"Dumbledore didn't really say, but I think that's what he meant," replied Hermione. "Otherwise he wouldn't have mentioned about uniforms not being seen as odd there."

"We stick to the names we've been using too?"

"Names?" Hermione gasped and put her hand to her head. "I forgot to ask about that. Blast!"

"Are you thinking it's not safe to use Helen and Joan?"

"I don't know. But Massey knew our names. What if he _did_ meet with You Know Who and they got as far as what our names were? I never thought to ask Dumbledore about whether he knew what happened to Massey."

"Bugger!" said Ginny. "So, those names could be very dodgy. Back in the magic world it might nudge the wrong person's memory."

"That's what I'm worried about," said Hermione as she rubbed at an eye.

"I suppose using our own names isn't ideal either?"

"No...that could be equally problematic. Maybe not to us now, but later in our own time. Urghhh!" Hermione groaned. "Always so much to think about!"

Ginny put an arm around her as they sat side by side on the floor. "I didn't think to ask either, so I wasn't particularly helpful, was I?"

"It's not your fault. Goodness, we had so much information thrown at us," answered Hermione, giving a smile to the redhead.

"Should we pass a message on to Dumbledore?" asked Ginny, tipping her head towards the ceiling, meaning a chat with Mrs. Dumbledore.

"I really don't think he wants contact with us again, unless it's an emergency or we've either failed or succeeded," said Hermione. "The usual protocol for the circumstances."

"Well then, why don't we create new names? We needn't change the details or ranks, just the names, like Dumbledore did for me when we first arrived?" suggested Ginny, and on seeing Hermione look surprised, she added, "It could be done with a wave of the wand. Besides, I don't think Helen and Joan were completely full proof, because our identities flumoxed those American officers. They couldn't seem to find out anything about us."

"True," said Hermione. "I doubt we'll be going to Great or Little Hangleton again, as we'll be in London to begin with." She paused as she thought, then brought out their WAAF papers and identity cards. "What shall we be? The plainer the better, really."

They both thought hard, going through names in their minds. "I was always slipping and calling myself 'Gin'," said Ginny. "It would be good if I could have something close to that."

"We can't call you Ginevra," said Hermione. "It's too close to having your whole real name. What about Virginia?"

"Why don't I just have 'Virgin' stamped on my forehead?" Ginny scoffed.

"We wouldn't have to use it in full, we can use the 'Gin' bit, so it would only be in full on your papers," said Hermione.

"Oh all right," said Ginny. "What about a surname?"

"Wade!" said Hermione straight away.

"That was fast!" inquired Ginny. "Any reason for it?"

"It sort of jumped into my mind," said Hermione. "The only Virginia I could think of was Virginia Wade. She was a muggle sportswoman who won the Wimbledon tennis championships in 1977. For some reason it popped into my head. It will serve our purpose, though, as it's a common name."

Ginny quite liked the idea of bearing the name of a sports champion, even if she didn't understand the first thing about tennis. "So what are you going to be?" she asked Hermione. "I can't think of anything with parts of your first name in it?"

"No, it doesn't shorten too well, does it?" grinned Hermione. "Let's see," she said, tapping a finger against her chin, in a classical thoughtful pose.

"Something tells me you won't be choosing Pansy Parkinson?" offered Ginny with a titter.

"No," Hermione smiled. "But I could be Rose Parkinson."

"Rose?" asked Ginny. "Where does that come from?"

"I've always liked the name," said Hermione. "I can live with it."

With their papers laid out on the floor, Hermione waved her wand over her own papers and then Ginny's, making all the necessary changes. "All done," she said.


	42. Confirmations

**A/N: A chapter to set things up for the next arc. :)**

42: Confirmations

They might have wondered if time started to go slowly once they had repacked their bags, but Hermione and Ginny still found some little details they needed to look into, such as the money Dumbledore had given them.

"I suppose we'd better count this," said Ginny, picking up the purse of galleons. "So we know what we have." With the floor clear of other items, Ginny tipped out the contents onto the carpet, as she and Hermione were kneeling again.

"That _is_ a lot of money!" said Hermione as she saw the large quantity of golden galleons in a heap on the carpet between them.

Counting the coins into seemingly unending stacks of ten, they were amazed to find Dumbledore had given them eight-hundred galleons.

"I think that purse must be enchanted," said Hermione, looking at it. "I never would have thought it held that much money otherwise."

"Dumbledore must really trust us," said Ginny, looking in wonder at the stacks of gold in front of her. "What's to stop us going off and spending the lot? He doesn't really know us."

"Hmm, he knows us enough to know that we wouldn't. We're just not the type. We're the boring type."

"Speak for yourself!" Ginny said, then laughed. "So, do we split this money between us, or keep it just in the purse?"

"I think we should half it, if only for the sake that it we somehow lost some, then we'd still have a lot left."

Having dealt with the finer details of the items they would be taking with them, and Hermione enchanting another purse she had, so Ginny could take half the galleons, they spent some time in the study again. Ginny showed Hermione some of the books she had read when she was at the house alone, before she had found her friend again. They enjoyed a light dinner and as it reached eight o'clock in the evening both women began to feel very tired.

"I think my body clock is telling me I need to sleep now," yawned Hermione. "Oh well, an early night means we can sleep longer and then be ready for our move tomorrow."

Ginny nodded her agreement, her body telling her she hadn't slept properly too, or not at the right time anyway.

Hermione had a quick bath, while Ginny set out their uniform clothes for the next day, then she too went to take a bath. Ginny had to give a little laugh when she saw that there was still no red bubblebath and it hadn't been replaced and she thought the missing bottle was no doubt still in Hermione's bag.

With her hair spell-dried and feeling fresh, Ginny walked back into the bedroom, slipped into bed next to Hermione and leaned over to her and sniffed.

"What?" asked Hermione, bemused.

"I thought so!"

"What?"

"You're still holding onto that red bubblebath," Ginny said, with what could only be described as a chortle.

"Um...yes. I like it," said Hermione, sounding sheepish. "Is there a problem?"

"No," said Ginny with a huge grin. She then leaned over and gave another deliberate sniff. "You smell nice."

"So do you," said Hermione. _I see we both do the sniffing thing,_ she thought, grinning.

"I don't think we need to set an alarm for tomorrow, do we?"

Hermione shook her head a little to bring her thoughts away from how good Ginny smelled, to the question at hand. "We don't need to be anywhere at a certain time, so no."

Ginny slid down the bed and laid on her back, looking up at the canopy of the four-poster bed. She was looking forward to going back to the magical world again, and a familar place too, but she wasn't overly happy with what they had to do. The thoughts over whether she would be up to the task, bothered her slightly. _Hermione will make it work,_ she thought, _after all, she's impersonated Bellatrix, but me...I'm just gangling, gawky and ginger! I'm not going to be that convincing as someone used to dealing in dodgy goods._

"Ginny?"

"Hmm?" _If I make a mistake or let something slip, it could ruin the whole thing and we'd never get anywhere near to obtaining that Smith woman's address. Messed up before we start!_

"Ginny?"

"Yes, I'm listening," the redhead said, turning her head to look at Hermione who was still half sitting up in bed next to her, nearly leaning over her.

"Are you okay?" Hermione's eyes were looking straight into hers.

"I think so, why?"

"Because I've been talking, and you didn't answer," said Hermione, as she reached for Ginny's hand. "What were you thinking about?"

"This and that," replied Ginny. "Tomorrow."

"Are you worried about something?"

"Most of it, actually," said Ginny, sighing deeply. "It will be nice to see familiar places again, but I just don't think I'm going to be that good with the whole Borgin & Burkes thing. I'm not all that convincing as a WAAF and I'm definitely not good at acting."

"I'm not any better at it!" said Hermione.

"But you've been Bellatrix and you've been...on the frontline. I'm out of my depth..."

"You listen to me, Ginny," said Hermione, cutting across anything her friend might have added. "_Out of your depth?_ Hardly! You've been incredible since we put that Time-Turner around our necks for the first time. You've done things I'm not sure I would have been able to do or cope with. You are most certainly not out of your depth. We're equals in every way on this journey."

"But, you've had so much more experience...I'll probably mess things up or...,"

"I might have become Bellatrix, but I wasn't _good_ at being her. Ron and Harry thought I was far too polite. I _couldn't_ be her, not convincingly. We...we had to use the _imperius_ curse on a goblin at the bank because he was getting suspicious almost straight away. I hated that we had to do that. Besides, you haven't messed anything up yet, and I know you won't. We're in this together...all of it, okay?"

Ginny looked back at Hermione, gave the tiniest of nods and blinked a few times, letting her eyelids close a lot longer than usual as she tried to push away her worry.

Hermione leaned over Ginny more and looked into her eyes. "Don't doubt yourself, Ginny," she said in soft voice. "Believe in yourself. _I_ believe in you." With that she lowered herself and kissed the redhead.

The words had been felt so deeply by Ginny, that she was sure she had felt her heart leap up and hit her ribcage, and she responded to the kiss eagerly. She tried to convey her thanks and her emotions to Hermione through that kiss, and quickly deepened it as she softly pushed her tongue into the brunette's mouth. Ginny wrapped her arms around Hermione as they kissed passionately, rubbing her hands along her back, running a hand into her hair, all the while feeling intoxicated by the sensations she was feeling.

Several minutes passed, with the utterance of small moans, suppressed giggles and the sounds of lips meeting lips again and again, until their kissing came to a natural end; both women breathing faster and not really wanting to part, but needing to take a little break.

_I want more,_ Ginny thought, _I don't know what it means in bigger terms, but I _want _Hermione...I think._

Hermione placed a couple of gentle little pecks on her friend's lips, before she moved back more, and lay on her side, reaching for Ginny's hand again.

_I know it's so soon...almost unhealthily soon,_ thought Hermione, _but I want more with her. I'm feeling things with her that I never felt about Ron...not even on the horniest of hormone-driven nights when I thought about him._

"I like your kisses," said Hermione, after a few minutes of silence. "I like them a lot." _Oh god, could I sound any more pathetic?_ Hermione thought to herself, annoyed.

Ginny turned slightly to face her. "I like yours a lot too," she said, feeling a heat rise to her cheeks.

Hermione saw Ginny blush, and moved her hand to a cheek and stroked the flushed skin. "You make me feel so alive," Hermione admitted.

The redhead didn't answer, mainly because she couldn't find the words to reply, and even if she thought them, she wasn't sure the words would reach her lips coherently. So she just smiled, bashfully back. _Urgh,_ she thought, _Hermione makes me act so dopey when we're like this! _

Seeing Ginny look so shy and embarrassed tickled Hermione, so she placed a kiss on her lips again, then kissed her way to the girl's ear. "You're cute when you blush," she whispered into Ginny's ear, before placing some tiny kisses on her earlobe, which made the redhead shiver.

Hermione made her way back to Ginny's lips and they enjoyed another passionate kiss, with the brunette feeling bold enough to slide her hand down from Ginny's cheek to her chest, gently placing a hand over the redhead's breast, loving the feel of the firm, warm flesh hiding beneath the T'shirt. Almost immediately she could feel the nipple harden under her touch and it took all of her resolve not to giggle into the kiss.

Ginny had an arm around Hermione and felt she wanted to hold her tighter to herself, and when she felt the pressure over her breast she felt a sensation go straight to her groin, almost making her hips move of their own accord. She couldn't avoid moaning into Hermione's mouth.

_Too soon,_ Ginny thought, _I feel fantastic under her touch, but we can't go further, not now._ _**Even if you do want to flip her over and hump her leg? Or use any part of her to relieve the ache?**_ asked her humourous conscience. _Yeah, even though I want to do that! I'm not even sure what...how...too soon, it's too soon!_

The way Ginny's body was so obviously reacting made Hermione feel even better than she thought possible. _I want more, and I can feel she does too, _she the brunette, _but it's too soon. We have too much to think about to complicate it further._

Having both reached a similar line of thinking, without knowing it, they slowly ended the kiss again. As they lay back from each other, still looking into each other's eyes with a sense of wonder, Hermione spoke. "I think we should get some sleep, now. Big day tomorrow."

"Yeah," replied Ginny. But the closeness they had just spent together along with Hermione's adamant statement of believing in her, Ginny felt confident and able to say something she wouldn't have been able to do half an hour before. "Hermione?"

"Yes."

"I'm not sure how to say this...or say it right," Ginny began. "You've just been making me feel things. Things I've never felt so strongly before..but..."

Hermione nodded for her to go on and felt a little nervous over what her friend was going to say, unsure of where the conversation was going to lead. _What's the 'but' going to be? Doesn't she want to kiss me anymore? Does she want to cool things?_ she wondered, _have I scared her and have we been too forward?_

"I know things have happened fast and we're caught up in some insane stuff, but you make me feel...," Ginny paused, trying to find the best way to say it.

"I make you feel...?" asked an anxious Hermione. _I _have _been too forward, _she thought glumly.

"Like I want more," said Ginny, now moving her eyes away, unable to keep eye contact. "It's just...we..._I..._can't_,_ yet. You probably don't feel the same way even, but I just wanted you to know...so...,"

"I feel the same way," said a very relieved Hermione, touching Ginny's cheek to get her to look at her again. "I want more with you. But it _is_ too soon...for both of us. We have so many things to think about here, I don't want to put more pressure and complications onto us. If we're meant to have more, then it will happen, when we both feel ready for it to. I'll never pressure you." Hermione placed a gentle kiss on Ginny's lips. _I really have to stop worrying so much, _she thought, _we're honest with each other. I just...I just don't want to go too far too soon and frighten her off._

The redhead smiled warmly, feeling relieved she was able to say what she wanted and incredibly happy that Hermione felt the same way. Wordlessly, Hermione moved to lay back, and Ginny moved up against her side, placing her arm across her waist and lightly hugging her. In no time at all they were both asleep.

Following a night with no discernible dreams, Ginny had thought that maybe she would avoid anymore now; so it was with surprise that she found herself dreaming..._zzzzzzz_

Ginny recognized where she was in the dream, straight away; it was the Burrow. _Hmm, what wonderful or annoying things will I see this time?_ she thought with trepidation.

Sitting on the sofa in the living room, she saw that she was alone. Only to be disturbed by a voice saying, "There you are!" _Not a horny Harry dream again? Please, no reruns either!_ she thought.

Turning, Ginny saw that it was in fact Hermione; she hadn't really heard the voice, so didn't know if the person was male or female. She smiled, genuinely pleased to see her. _At least I'm not visiting her grave._

Hermione walked over to her and got hold of her hands to raise her to her feet. "We've got the house to ourselves," said the brunette. "Let's go upstairs." _Hmmm,_ thought Ginny wondering.

Upon reaching Ginny's bedroom, where Hermione usually slept when staying at the Burrow too, Hermione closed the door behind them and cast a locking charm on it. _Hang on,_ thought Ginny, _have I swapped a horny Harry for a horny Hermione? You know...bugger it...do your worst!_

The brunette gave the cheekiest of smiles, which made Ginny laugh, before closing the distance between them and kissing her; a full deep kiss, where tongues danced against each other and arms were wrapped tight around one another, hands smoothing over clothed skin. Hermione turned them and pushed Ginny back to sit on one of the beds, then gently pushed her to lie back as she positioned herself to hover over the redhead.

Hermione kissed her deeply again and trailed light kisses down to her neck and sucked and licked at the soft skin she found there, as her hands began to undo the buttons on Ginny's shirt. _Hopefully my dream won't jump forwards...please don't cut anything out,_ thought Ginny, knowing that her sleeping form was probably smirking.

Ginny sat up for a moment to take her shirt off, as Hermione was staring at her bra-covered chest. "I'm going to take that off for you," the brunette almost purred. She reached around Ginny, and effortlessly unhooked the bra, lightly pulling it free and away from Ginny's body. Even dreaming, Ginny felt a little embarrassed by her lack of clothing, feeling Hermione's eyes on her like warm rays from the sun.

Hermione nudged Ginny back to lying down and as she hovered over her, she held both of Ginny's breasts in her hands. It felt amazing to the redhead, to feel those hands touching her, and when Hermione's thumbs brushed over her hardening nipples she sighed loudly, feeling like she was melting into a big puddle. _Wellll,_ thought Ginny as she dreamed_, that's...err...very nice! Oh god, I hate to think of the noises I'm making in my sleep!_

For a while Hermione continued to kiss her and touch her breasts; kneading, holding and caressing her. Ginny opened her eyes to look at Hermione. "Don't I get to play too?" she asked, as she tugged on the brunette's shirt. _Wow! I'm being forward!_ thought Ginny, _good point though, I want some action too!_

Giving the sweetest of smiles, Hermione took off her shirt over her head, in one fluid movement. Ginny sat up a little again, and reached around to get the hooks on Hermione's bra. She fiddled for a moment, but couldn't seem to undo the thing. Laughing she kept on trying, until Hermione laughed and reached around and undid it for her. _Great,_ thought Ginny as she dreamed, _I made a right prat of myself. Boys can't undo bras _not _girls! I use one myself every day for Merlin's sake!_

The grumbling Ginny that was thinking as she dreamed soon faded away as she got a view of a bare-chested Hermione. Her hands moved forwards and cupped both breasts. "So soft," she said. _What was I expecting?_ Ginny groaned at her dream-self, _they weren't exactly going to feel like rocks! Besides I've touched the real thing, yes, they're soft, but why do I have to state the embarrassingly obvious? It's not even a sexy remark!_

Hermione leaned in to kiss her again, pushing them back down to the bed, both moaning softly as they felt their breasts touch. Ginny was running her hands up and down Hermione's bare back and in a swift move, shifted her legs so that Hermione was lying between them. Their kissing became more urgent and hands felt for any available skin, and Ginny had wrapped her legs around Hermione squeezing her more tightly against her. _Whew...this is getting...well...hot,_ she thought, positive she must be grinning ridiculously in her sleep. _Just how far is this going to go?_ she pondered, hopefully. _I know we're not ready in real life, but dreaming it isn't going to do any harm...in fact it might give me a clue as to...how, where...what to do...which I hate to admit I'm not completely sure about...so stupid of me...bugger it, just wait and watch. _

Following her thoughts of wondering what they would end up doing in the dream, she felt Hermione slide a hand down the side of her, making her feel like Hermione was leaving burning welts from the heat of the moment where her hand had touched her. Hermione then stopped the attention her lips were giving to Ginny's neck and looked into her eyes, as she slid her hand between them and cupped Ginny's still clothed crotch. The red-haired woman gave a strange little sound in response, almost like an elongated squeak as her hips moved up to meet Hermione's hand. _Oh crap,_ thought Ginny, _that feels too good! I want her to rip off my other clothes now! I'm such a tart!_

Ginny was enjoying every moment as Hermione squeezed and rubbed at her clothed mound. They kissed again, before Ginny had to break away panting. "Hermione," she said. "Take me...please." _What?_ Ginny thought, '_Take me'? What am I? Some bloody harlot? As if I'd say 'Take me'...where the hell did that come from? What am I saying?_

Concentrating back on the dream, Ginny felt Hermione move her hand to unbutton her trousers and unzip the fly. _She's going to do it,_ thought Ginny, _she's going to touch me there! _Just as Hermione was sliding her hand into Ginny's underwear the door flew open.

"Ginny?"

Both women jumped, scrabbling for the quilt to cover themselves, only for Ginny to find Harry standing in the doorway looking at them.

"That door was locked!" said Ginny

"Apparently not," said Harry. "Ginny...what are you doing?"

_What the hell does it look like,_ _Harry?_ she thought as she dreamed, _Hermione's not exacting helping me to improve my sewing skills is she?_

"We were...we were just...," Hermione tried to say but couldn't say anything else.

"Shagging?" asked Harry, as he gave a hurt look to Ginny.

"No," said Ginny. _No. I think you barged in before it got that far!_ she thought.

"Why her?" he asked. "You're with me, Ginny. If you sleep with anyone it should be with me! I would have waited for you."

"You're dead," the dream-Ginny blurted out.

"Am I?"

"Yes, you are," said Ginny.

"It doesn't feel like it to me. My chest actually hurts, I think it's my heart hurting for you," said Harry, as he slapped a hand to his chest.

"I saw you..._we_ saw you dead, Harry," said Ginny, feeling a lump in her throat now, and impending tears, as she was taken back again to that fateful moment when Hagrid had brought out Harry's lifeless body.

"It's true, Harry," said Hermione. "I checked you over, you were cold and...dead."

"Why am I feeling such pain, then? Why am I hurting, if I'm dead?" asked Harry with an anxious expression.

"I don't know...the shock of seeing us, maybe?" suggested Ginny.

"Or my regret for pushing you away," said Harry. "I never should have kept doing that. You deserved better. But I was trying to keep you safe, Ginny. I'd never be able to live with myself if something happened to you because of me. I had to make that choice."

"That's just it, Harry, _you_ chose for _us_," said Ginny. "I was perfectly prepared for the dangers. My whole family were used to living in danger. Didn't you have faith in me?" _I'd like to know what this Harry answers to that,_ she thought as she viewed the dream.

"I've always had faith in you," said Harry sadly. "I just wanted to keep you safe for myself. I've always been a bit selfish when it came to you."

"It all seems ridiculous with how things turned out," said Ginny. "I'm sorry, but I can't live a dream. I can't live with the dead, I have to live with the living." _That was a bit philosophical of me,_ she thought.

"I'll never stop loving you, Ginny," said Harry. "You were the only girl I wanted."

"I was there for you, Harry. Right to the end. A part of me will always love you."

Harry's appearance had begun to change slightly, and transform to the now familiar form Ginny had seen before; a dead-faced Harry, with apparent decomposition. The horror of it didn't strike her with the same shock it once had, instead she felt immense pity and loss.

"Ginny...," he said, sadly.

Ginny could feel her tears now, from the strange and immense conversation and the deep hurt she saw in Harry's eyes, knowing some of her hurt was also guilt again. As she looked at him, she could see his cloudy eyes fill with tears also, and as a tear rolled down his cheek he angrily wiped it away, before giving Ginny a last heartbreaking look, then he turned and walked away from the door.

"Harry?" she called.

In a rush, she picked up her shirt from the floor, and holding it to her chest she ran to the door, but Harry was nowhere to be seen and she couldn't hear him on the stairs. She could feel her own tears flowing now and then arms wrap around her from behind..._zzzzzzz_

"It's okay," said a familiar soft voice.

Opening her eyes she found herself being held by Hermione, her head against the brunette's chest. Ginny looked up and her gaze was met by warm eyes, as a hand gently wiped her apparently wet cheeks.

"Bad dream again?" asked Hermione. For the moment Ginny couldn't answer. "I so hoped you wouldn't have anymore."

Ginny wasn't sure what to say, as she was trying to work out her dream herself; wondering how such a sexy dream, which she was enjoying, got so twisted and heart-wrenching. She shook her head a little, not knowing how it all happened or why it should.

"Why does he keep doing that?" Ginny said, not sure if she meant to say it out loud or not.

"Why does 'who' keep doing what?" asked Hermione. _I bet Harry was in her dreams again, _she thought, _poor Ginny._

"Harry," Ginny said, then sighed deeply. "He keeps showing up in my dreams unexpectedly, talks to me, tells me how much he loved me or that I've moved on with no thought of him, then looks dead and either blurs and leaves or vanishes completely."

"Did you want him to stay and not vanish this time?"

"I don't know. Maybe. No. But he talks about things and sometimes it's almost like a riddle, or about things I can't change. A couple of times I'd have liked to be able to think of something to ask him, to get answers. Is it just guilt being turned on me?"

"It might be," said Hermione. "What were you doing in this dream, that made it strange for him to appear there?"

"Err...," Ginny began. "Well...I was with...you."

"Right."

"In my bedroom at the Burrow...it was a bit like that dream I had of Harry, taking me up to Ron's room...only Harry was the one to open the door on _us_ this time."

"Oh," replied Hermione. Then she smiled, "Were we...um...decent?"

Blushing and releasing a nervous titter, Ginny said, "Not from the waist up."

"Oh!"

"Sorry," said Ginny shyly.

"Don't apologize," said Hermione, a faint colour reaching her own cheeks. _Ginny and I were naked from the waist up...I wouldn't mind having that dream,_ she thought. "We can't control our dreams."

Ginny could only laugh in answer to that, before saying, "It was a little out of control. But Harry kind of stopped anything going further. Then followed all the usual confusion and heartbreak he usually leaves me in dreams."

"I can't really answer things for you," said Hermione. "It might be guilt that you feel deep down. It might be because you came here with me instead of staying at Hogwarts, although now it might just be because of me."

"I was having odd dreams of Harry like this before I even acknowledged that I felt anything for you," said Ginny. "I know I must harbour some guilt about _all_ of it, I just wish it didn't manifest in my dreams in the way that it does."

"I wish it wouldn't too," said Hermione, as she placed a kiss on Ginny's forehead.

"Hmm, I'm still waking you up, then?" said Ginny.

"Don't worry about it," said Hermione. "I'm glad I can be here for you. I'm not really much help with the actual dreams, but if I can give you some comfort then I will."

Ginny raised herself up and pressed her lips to Hermione's. "Thank you," she said, before settling down by Hermione's side again and holding one of her hands. Thinking they were settled to go back to sleep, Ginny was surprised when Hermione spoke, then very amused.

"So, did you like your dream before Harry appeared?" asked an inquisitive Hermione.

"Yes."

"Is that it?" asked Hermione. _I want to know what we were doing,_ she thought.

Chuckling, Ginny decided to divulge some of it, but wasn't going to look at Hermione when she said it. So with her eyes closed ready to sleep again, Ginny said, "We kissed a lot, helped each other to take off shirts and bras and got very cosy." _Should I tell her more?_ she thought, _why not. _"You had then undone my trousers and were about to stick your hand into my underwear when Harry opened the door."

"Really?" said Hermione, imagining it all. _Now why can't _I _have a dream like that?_ she thought. _I'd even accept a dead Harry moment! All right, maybe not facing Harry, because that would be truly horrible, but the rest of the dream sounded _very _good._

"Yes." _I'm not going to mention my pathetic attempt to undo her bra or the silly sentences I spoke! _Ginny thought.

"And you liked it?"

"Yes," said Ginny, feeling the heat radiating from her own cheeks.

"I think I would too," said a definitely more breathy Hermione.

Both with a blushed, smiling face, they cuddled up and settled, entering a sleep which was uneventful and almost dreamless, knowing that the day would bring many new issues as they would embark upon their next task.


	43. The Leaky Cauldron

**A/N: The girls are back on the 'making plans' path. :)**

43: The Leaky Cauldron

Ginny and Hermione were awake by eight o'clock, and both felt like they might have adjusted their body clocks now.

In about an hour, both women had washed, dressed in their WAAF work uniforms and had just finished a light breakfast of tea and toast. Another half an hour was spent checking the house, to make sure they hadn't left behind anything, and that everything they had used was back in its original place. Everything except the bottle of red bubblebath which Hermione still kept in her beaded bag.

"What will be our initial story?" asked Ginny, as they put away the washed up breakfast cutlery and crockery. "I'm sure, despite how used The Leaky Cauldron are to seeing magic folk in muggle uniforms, they might still ask. And if we start frequenting Knockturn Alley, people might ask around about us in general?"

"I had thought about that," said Hermione, and seeing Ginny stare at her she added, "When I was in the bath last night. I thought it would be easiest and almost truthful to say we had been posted elsewhere in the country but were finally back in the area, which was good because we had several things we wanted to do in Diagon Alley and elsewhere."

"That sounds good," said Ginny. "And 'elsewhere' is a subtle way to hint at Knockturn Alley."

"Precisely," said Hermione. "Then, if any word gets back to the pub, or we're talked about, then they'll think that's what we meant all along. Okay, I think we're ready now."

Ginny looked around the tidy kitchen and used _tergeo_ to clean the tea towel she had been using and put it back in a draw in the pantry. Once she walked back to the kitchen table she checked she had her enchanted bag and her half of the galleons, Hermione was doing the same checks, before they both slung their gas mask bags over a shoulder and put on their hats.

"I never thought I'd have to wear this blooming thing again?" said Ginny as she grimaced, putting on her hat.

"Hopefully we won't have to much," said Hermione as she donned her own hat.

"Off we go then," said Ginny.

Hermione walked up to Ginny, took one of her hands and placed a soft peck of a kiss on her lips. Smiling again she said, "I needed that for a bit of courage."

Ginny laughed. "A poor excuse!" Hermione squeezed her hand and led the way through the scullery and out into the back garden.

Standing in the garden, Hermione looked at Ginny. "Do you want to Disapparate by yourself or have me take us both?"

"You can take us both," said Ginny. "I know I can Disapparate and Apparate myself, and I got you back here okay, but as we need to be right on the doorstep of the Cauldron, it's better you do it...for accuracy as much as anything."

"Right," said Hermione as she held Ginny's hand firmly. "Here we go."

With a crack and a whoosh they once again left Dumbledore's garden and the safety of his home in Godric's Hollow.

They Apparated onto The Leaky Cauldron's doorstep, with Hermione putting an arm around Ginny as the girl swayed slightly once their feet had touched the ground.

"I'm fine, I'm fine," said Ginny, who shook her head as if trying to avoid a fly buzzing at her, trying to shake off the side-effects of Side-Along Apparating. After a matter of moments, Ginny nodded that they could walk inside the pub now; her stomach still didn't feel perfect, but she was used to that part.

A couple of steps into the pub showed the place to be mostly empty, except for a couple of old witches reading a copy of the Daily Prophet in one corner while drinking a purple steaming drink, and an old wizard with a moth-eaten pointed hat sitting on a stool at the bar, hunched over, talking to the barman.

"It doesn't look any different," said Ginny quietly.

"Even the barman looks the same," said Hermione. "I'm not sure how that's possible?"

"Well, he was really old in our time. Dad says he was much older than he looked, so it's possible it's the same one," said Ginny, in almost a whisper.

As they walked further into the pub, one of the reading witches had peeped over the top of her newspaper to look at the new arrivals, and they hadn't walked many steps towards the bar, before the barman noticed them too.

"Hello ladies," said the barman. "What can I get you?"

Walking up to the bar, Hermione said. "We were looking to rent a room, have you got any free?"

"We have a single and a double free."

"We'd be fine sharing, so we'll take the double," said Hermione. _We've managed sharing so far_, she thought. _Besides which, I don't want to sleep alone. _Her conscience just giggled in the back of her mind.

"How long would you be staying?" the barman asked, not in a probing way, just in a businesslike way.

"We're not sure, it could be a few days, is that a problem?"

"No, that's fine, it's just if you were staying for more than two weeks, we're due a party of important dignitaries from the Minstry, and we're fully booked from then," the barman lowered his voice. "They're supposed to be checking over all the Alley and so on, waste of time and money if you ask me, but these people like posturing and acting like they own the place, so if we want our licenses renewed we have to smile and bow and let them get on with it."

"We should have moved on again by then," said Hermione. _I blooming hope so, anyway, _she thought.

"Well, if you follow me, I'll show you to your room," said the barman. He called out the back to someone, and another man came forward to mind the bar as Hermione and Ginny were escorted through a very familiar door and up some very familiar stairs. A short time later, the barman opened the door on their room and showed them in.

"Here we are then," he said. "You should be comfortable in here, you have your own little bathroom through the door over there." He pointed to the door at the end of the room then he looked at both girls. "Have I seen you here before?"

"Not for a long time," said Hermione. _Yeah,_ she thought, _we haven't been here since around fifty years from now._ She wanted to laugh at the absurd upside-down statement her mind had thought up.

"I see you're doing your bit for the muggles?" he asked, acknowledging their uniforms.

"Yes," said Ginny, who had been silent until now, finally getting over the effects of Side-Along Apparating. "We try to help where we can."

"Quite right," said the barman. "After all, if we don't aassist the muggles to save this country than us lot won't have much left to work with. I know our two worlds are almost oblivious of each other, but we need muggles as much as they need us, whether we or they know it or not. Anyway, the word is, it's almost over...I hope so."

Hermione got her purse out from a pocket. "How much is the room?" she asked.

"Two galleons a night," he said.

Although back in the magic world, neither Hermione or Ginny knew if that was expensive or not for this period of history. Not needing to worry about money, Hermione handed over the two galleons.

"Are you here on business or pleasure?" the barman asked. "Just out of interest."

_The questions have already started, I see,_ thought Ginny. Hermione was almost thinking the very same sentence. Barmen liked to know people's business, the gossip and on occasion even enjoyed hearing a drunk tell them their life story.

"We've been away awhile," said Hermione, thinking on the story she had concocted. "With work," she said, indicating her uniform. "Finally we've got some leave, and can attend to some things in Diagon Alley and elsewhere. So it's a little bit of both."

The barman seemed to accept the tale and walked back to the door. "Well I hope you enjoy your stay. If you need anything, give a shout. I'm Tom, the landlord, by the way." He gave a wave and walked out of the room, closing the door behind him.

"Tom? That answers that, then," whispered Hermione, realizing he was the same landlord from her own time after all.

"I told you it was the same bloke," smiled Ginny.

Hermione walked to the door, put an ear to it, and happy there was no sound outside she carefully opened the door and peered out onto the landing corridor. No one was there, so she sighed and closed the door again.

"All clear," said Hermione. "Which means, he doesn't think there's anything odd about us. Or he's yet to be convinced if we're odd enough to watch yet."

"I suppose this means we're back to paranoid mode?" asked Ginny, with a crooked grin.

"Yes," agreed Hermione. "Anyway, I don't know about you, but I want to get out of this blasted uniform."

"What did he mean by 'the word is, it's almost over'?" asked Ginny.

"Let's see what day is it?" thought Hermione, using her fingers. "It's the 3rd of May. He was right...VE Day is on the 8th!"

"VE Day?"

"Victory in Europe," said Hermione, her eyes bright with recognition. "It was over a few days before that really, but 8th May was and still is the day the Allies celebrated Victory in Europe. Unfortunately the war with Japan went on for a few more months, and often gets wrongly forgotten, but anyway VE Day was a huge day for Britain and other countries."

"So, if we're still around here," said Ginny, thinking. "Does that mean we can ditch these awful clothes on the 8th?"

"No," said Hermione with a grin. "Uniforms were worn for a long time afterwards, as it took a long time to demob everyone...to sign off everyone."

"So we're stuck with the pudding hats a bit longer, if we go out into the muggle world?"

"I'm afraid so."

Ginny soon began to wear a beaming smile again, though. "We're back in the magic world, that's something to be happy for. If only for the clothes!"

Both of the women changed out of their WAAF uniforms, placing the clothes into an old oak wardrobe in the room, and opted for some plain trousers and shirts, of a style which was neutral to any fashion or age; Ginny wore some of Hermione's clothes.

"These will do for around here and in Diagon Alley," said Hermione as she brushed off some fluff from her shirt sleeve. "But once we take a look in Knockturn Alley, we might find we need to dress a little differently, to actually enter the shop and look convincing."

"Skanky you mean?" asked Ginny, understanding what Hermione meant straight away.

"Sort of."

"Well, we might as well take a walk in Diagon Alley, now," said Ginny. "Unless you wanted to do something else or wait?"

"No time like the present," said Hermione.

They made their way down the stairs and out the back of The Leaky Cauldron, into a yard, facing the brick wall. Ginny used her wand to tap the bricks and the entrance to Diagon Alley appeared as it always had.

"I feel like I did when I first came here," said Hermione. "I actually feel a little excited."

"I do too," agreed the redhead, who then linked her arm through Hermione's and with almost a spring in her step, tugged her along through the entrance.

"It doesn't look any different," said Hermione in a quiet voice, looking around as they walked along the main street.

The place was just as busy as it always was and most of the shops were exactly the same, although they probably had a very much younger version of the shop owner in charge, or their parents and grandparents running the businesses.

Ginny was immediately drawn to the quidditch shop. In the window was the latest in clothing and equipment, and in pride of place was the latest broomstick. It looked very rough indeed compared to the smooth lines of Harry's Firebolt. It appeared to be a Cleansweep Four.

"I never knew they did a Cleansweep Four?" said Ginny in a quiet voice only Hermione could hear.

"Maybe it wasn't popular or had glitches?"

"It's possible."

Walking a bit further on they saw that, not unexpectedly, Ollivander's wand shop looked just the same, as did Flourish & Blotts. Hermione would have liked to have investigated inside the book shop, but they weren't here for leisure, they were supposed to be doing some observations and making their way to the area of Knockturn Alley.

Gringotts Bank still looked imposing up ahead of them and Hermione was thankful that, for the moment, she wouldn't have to enter the building, and hopefully wouldn't have to in the time they were here. The place held too many memories of recent events.

In very little time they found the turn-off to Knockturn Alley. "I think we should just stop here as if we're chatting and have a crafty look at the people who pass us," said Hermione, as they halted where the one street met the other.

Both women were not sure if their minds were playing tricks or whether what they sensed was true, but as they looked down Knocturn Alley, it seemed as though the route was darker, and the buildings closed in more.

"You've been there before, haven't you?" asked Ginny.

"Sort of, but nothing like the way we need to visit it."

The few shops they could see in this part of the magic world, didn't look very welcoming at all; half of them didn't even look like shops, and the ones that did, didn't look open, even though they were. The few people who passed them were not the kind you'd want to meet alone down a dark alley either, and especially not down Knockturn Alley. Both women avoided making eye contact or looking as though they were deliberately staring and carried on acting as though they were just standing and talking.

Some of the clientele of Knockturn Alley, looked overtly strange and at the very least, mildly dangerous. One wizard looked more like a tramp or a beggar than someone who would have money to spend in the kind of shops of dubious business here.

Another kind of patron, were the obviously rich kind, dressed much finer but much more traditionally too. Hermione immediately thought of Lucius Malfoy when she saw one wizard leave the area where she knew Borgin & Burkes' shop entrance would be, with a parcel wrapped in brown paper; the wizard was putting on the air of someone very important but also acting like he hadn't really bought something and was trying to draw more attention to himself, than to the package he carried under his arm.

_That's our place_, thought Hermione, as she nudged Ginny and gave an almost imperceptible thumb movement in the direction of Borgin and Burkes.

Hermione remembered Harry telling her about the time he had accidentally ended up in Knockturn Alley and how Hagrid had been there buying Flesh-eating Slug Repellent. Looking at the shops down the street, Hermione could well believe that there was much more than slug repellent available, and meant for use on humans too.

In the few minutes Ginny and Hermione had been standing near to the entrance to the creepy Alley, a few people had looked at them, but not with anything other than passing interest.

"Let's move away again," said Hermione in a whisper.

"Thank Merlin!" whispered Ginny, relieved.

The two women didn't go back to The Leaky Cauldron, and decided on having a cup of tea at a cafe in the middle of Diagon Alley. It wasn't there in their own time, so it was new to both of them.

Sitting at a table inside, at the back of the cafe, so they could keep an eye on people arriving and leaving, Ginny gave a sort of relieved groan as she sat down with her cup of tea. "That place gave me the creeps," she said. "And we were only on the corner of it."

"I know, it's horrible," answered Hermione. "It probably feels worse to us, because we know the type of people that frequent there."

"I know we've only begun, but I really hope we don't have to actually go there many times."

"You'll have no argument from me on that," said Hermione. "At least this morning we've seen the type of look which would be best."

"From what I could see, you either have to look like you sleep in the gutter and sniff cleaning potions for a hobby, or you look posh and very Malfoy-ish," said Ginny, with equal distaste for both personas.

"You saw the Malfoy-type man too, then?"

"I wouldn't be surprised if he was related to him," said Ginny. "Anyway, we either choose skanky or posh from what I can see."

"We could do skanky-posh," said Hermione, not liking the thought that had come to her. Ginny looked at her questioningly. "Well, we both know someone who is...pureblood, with a long ancestry, rich, but very skanky too."

"You don't mean...?"

"I've impersonated her once, this will be better because it's only the kind of look we want, not actually to look _like_ her."

"But..._her_?" Ginny grimaced. "That can't be a nice thought for you, to dress like...," she whispered. "Bellatrix again?"

"None of this is going to be nice, is it?" said Hermione. "It's just the clothes, and we can modify the look a little, but she isn't a bad template to keep in mind."

"If you're sure?"

"I'm not sure, but I don't think either of us could convincingly be like insane jabbering tramps, and nor could we act like some version of magical royalty. My idea, makes us of both worlds and I'm hoping that makes us 'normal' or the average, in that kind of world," Hermione said, taking small sips of her tea. "We can be a little eccentric, rather than crazy."

"I suppose we ought to go to one of the shops here and buy some robes?" suggested Ginny.

"We don't need to," said Hermione.

"We don't?"

"I've still got some of the old robes from Grimmauld Place."

"I don't remember seeing them the numerous times we've sorted out your bag?" asked Ginny.

"I kept them in a bag, within the bag that has the tent," said Hermione. She gave a little sigh. "I couldn't bear to look at the things after everything that's happened, so I shoved them in the tent bag, thinking we wouldn't need them, but keeping them all the same."

"And they look like the type of thing we need?"

"Yes, they're old in style, but coming from the Black family, they have the right look," said Hermione. "We can make a few adjustments as we need."

As they finished their teas, Ginny looked towards the cafe window and could just see Ollivander's shop. "Hermione, have you thought about getting a new wand?"

"No, why?"

"Well, Ollivander's is here, as it always seems to have been, and I wondered if you wanted to get another one?"

"I'm not sure," said Hermione. "I think it's too risky."

"Hmm," Ginny said, wondering. "Are you thinking that you might choose the wand you chose when you started Hogwarts? And if you buy it now, you can't buy it then?"

"Yeah, that's the kind of problem I'm thinking of. I just don't know how that would affect things. It's not like buying a pair of shoes or a cup of tea...there's something more deeply involved when buying a wand and I think it would be risky," said Hermione. "Believe me, I'd love to get a new wand so I don't have to use the one I have...but I can't buy one here."

"Are you ready to go back to the Cauldron, now?" asked Ginny, when Hermione had drunk the last of her tea.

"Yes, we can make a start on those robes."

"All work and no play," said Ginny, grinning. Then another thought came to her. "If we sort out our robes, will we...make our first visit to...," she whispered. "Borgin & Burkes, this afternoon?"

"If you feel ready to, I'm all for it," said Hermione.

"I don't think I'll ever feel ready for what we have to do," said Ginny. "But the sooner we get started on this whole..._act, _the better. That's how I see it, anyway."

"I couldn't agree more," said Hermione.

They left the cafe and made the walk back to The Leaky Cauldron. Once back in their room, Hermione pulled out her beaded bag and retrieved the old canvas bag that contained the tent and opened it to pull out a linen bag holding the couple of old robes she had taken from Grimmauld Place.

None of the robes were flashy or likely to draw attention, but had a distinctly traditional look to them. Hermione handed over one of the garments to Ginny. The dress would have to be put over the head, and adjusted to the wearer by a couple of laces, then finished off with a row of very small buttons at the front, shaping the whole thing and adding to the look of the bustline.

"I'll go try it on in the bathroom," said Ginny.

Hermione could hear one of two sighs of complaint from the bathroom and she was sure she heard the word 'bugger' uttered a couple of times.

"Are you all right in there?" Hermione asked.

"Yeah, just having a bit of trouble with all these little buttons on the bodice," replied Ginny, before she walked back out, wearing the black dress, with its shaped bodice and flowing skirt. "How's it look?"

For a moment Hermione couldn't answer. Although the robes from Grimmauld Place were old and if one looked very closely it could be noted that they had seen better days, they still looked good quality. The row of many small buttons down the front, from just below the bustline to the pelvis, pulled the dress to the shape of Ginny wonderfully. Hermione could only stare at the accentuated curves of Ginny's hips and the way the bodice pushed up her bust. _She looks stunning,_ Hermione thought.

Ginny had been watching Hermione's face and wondering what her friend's expression meant. "You're looking at me funny. Do I look _that_ awful?" Ginny asked, as she moved to look in a mirror on the old oak wardrobe in the room.

Hermione walked up behind her and placed her hands on her friend's waist, sliding her hands down against the curve of Ginny's hips and back up, before wrapping her arms around her.

"Not awful," said Hermione. "I was thinking how wonderful you looked. You're beautiful." She nuzzled her nose into Ginny's silky red hair, and then place a kiss to the side of her neck.

"Oh," Ginny said, feeling completely thrown by the compliment. She placed her hands over Hermione's that were around her waist, and leant back slightly into the embrace. "I obviously do the gothic tart look, really well?" she laughed.

"Don't put yourself down," said Hermione. "I don't know about being a gothic tart, but that dress suits you."

Ginny turned in Hermione's embrace. "Tart or not, it takes forever to get these damn buttons done up. I don't see the point of them, they don't open anything, only tighten the shape...stupid design!"

Hermione couldn't resist trailing a finger slowly up the line of buttons, not knowing that she was sending little sensations through to Ginny. Stopping at the bustline, Hermione allowed herself to trail her fingers along the visible swell of the top of Ginny's breasts.

The redhead almost trembled under Hermione's touch and when she felt her friend's fingers tracing her bustline, on her bare skin, she sucked in a breath and had to steady herself by placing her hands on Hermione's waist.

Hermione looked up to her, almost as if she had been lost in the moment and had forgotten that Ginny was watching and feeling what she was doing. "Sorry, I got a little carried away," she said, colour reaching her cheeks.

"Don't be sorry," said Ginny, as she moved forward and kissed Hermione.

The kiss was deliciously slow, sensual and soft. Ginny had wrapped her arms around Hermione, and the brunette had left a hand on top of Ginny's chest, her fingers gently flexing, feeling the soft skin beneath them, wishing she could feel even more of the redhead's flesh.

As the kiss ended naturally, Hermione placed soft, tender kisses from Ginny's mouth to her chin, jaw and her neck, greatly enjoying the small, almost whimpering noises she was provoking from Ginny. Hermione's feathery kisses ended up lower, so she was replacing her hands to the visible part of the redhead's breasts with her lips.

Ginny slid her hand into Hermione's hair, holding her to her chest, her breathing fast and shallow. Not thinking she could stand upright for much longer she shuffled back, to feel the bed against the backs of her legs.

Noticing the movement, Hermione stopped what she was doing and looked up at Ginny. "Do you want me to stop?" she asked, concerned. _How many times do I have to remind myself not to go too far with things? _she thought, annoyed at herself.

"No," said Ginny. "I just need to sit down, I think."

Sitting down on the bed, Ginny reached for Hermione's hand, and as she shuffled further up the bed, she tugged on the hand, wanting Hermione to join her.

_Everything seems okay, _thought Hermione. _I really have to learn to...to...I don't know. How does one hold back and go forward at the same time? Just stop worrying, for now!_

Hermione hovered over Ginny, who was looking back up at her with adoration and a little nervousness. Ginny pushed back Hermione's hair and gently pulled her down to kiss her again. Their tongues met, seeking the other out, pushing the other back, tangling, as Hermione lowered a hand to Ginny's chest again, holding her breast, allowing her thumb to run across the bared flesh above the dress. It made Ginny give a little moan into her mouth, making them both want to laugh.

Both young women's heartbeats were fast, their kissing passionate and deep, their hands sending a shower of tingles to wherever they touched or held the other.

_I know I want her,_ Ginny thought. _I'm sure of it now. Although I haven't a bloody clue what I'm doing, or how to...I think I know...or do I? Is it the same as with men? Does it just happen? How will I know...how will I know where or what...oh shut up, we're not going to do anything else, now, so there's no need to panic...yet. _

_How did I go from wanting Ron, to wanting Ginny? _thought Hermione. _I know which one I prefer now, though._ _I want her, _thought Hermione, as she rubbed a hand up the side of Ginny, feeling the curve of her hips and waist again, _I want to touch her everywhere and for her to touch me. AND if I don't stop now..._

They broke from their passionate embrace, Hermione leaving little soft kisses to Ginny's lips and cheek, before moving and lying next to her, still with an arm wrapped around the redhead.

"Err...I'm not sure that was part of the plan for today?" asked an amused Ginny.

"No, but I'm not complaining," said Hermione.

"Me neither."

"You're all right?" asked Hermione.

"Yeah, I'm fine...although..."

"Although?"

"I don't know how to tell you this. I want to tell you something, but I don't want to scare you off or sound...weird...or mess things up," said Ginny, raising a hand to rub her head, trying to think of how to voice her thoughts.

Hermione felt a twinge of anxiety, unsure of what Ginny wanted to tell her. _Maybe I did go a bit too far with her this time. How do I know how far is too far yet?_ she questioned herself, for what seemed like the hundredth time that day. "You can tell me anything, Ginny."

"I'm sure of something, now," said Ginny, in a very timid voice. "I think I...no, I _know_...," she tailed off again, words failing her.

"Please, just tell me?" asked a worried Hermione.

"I want you," said Ginny, her cheeks immediately flushing red. "I mean, I felt it last night and when we were, you know, just now. I _really_ want you...I...I don't know how else to explain it. It's more than lust or some silly girlie thing. I'm not sure how to express it, but I'm sure I want you...not just want more _with _you, but...I want _you_."

Hermione almost breathed a huge sigh of relief, before her brain adjusted to the information. _She wants me? She really wants me?_ she thought, _Bloody hell! _"Well, Ginny Weasley," she said. "I want you too. I know it's a true feeling, I've never felt it so strongly before. And if...," she stalled; it was her turn to have trouble finding her words.

"And if...?"

"If I hadn't stopped just now, I'm not sure I could have stopped myself," Hermione said, closing her eyes, feeling a little ashamed at her statement, hoping yet again that she hadn't unnerved Ginny.

Ginny leaned over and placed a kiss on Hermione's lips. "I trust you, Hermione," she said. "I knew that before, but from what you just said, I know it even more. But I'm not some delicate leaf that will break if you bend it back too far...it's not like I'm passive."

"I know," Hermione said. "I know that. But I never ever want to rush you, or do anything you're not ready for. What _we're_ not ready for."

Once more, Ginny kissed Hermione, touching her lips to the brunette's, letting her know what she felt through the kiss, where words were failing her.

"I think we'll both know if and when the time is right," said Ginny, then she grinned. "But for now, I think you should try on _your_ funky dress." _The time can't be right just yet, because I'm still not sure of what to do...hopefully I'll be able to work it out, before we reach that stage. I'd hate to be so damn crap and clueless that I turn off Hermione, rather than...just stop worrying! _she thought, and was swiftly brought back to the present as Hermione answered.

"I don't need to," said Hermione. "I know what my one looks like."

"Not fair!" said Ginny with a deliberate pout.

"Oh all right," said an amused Hermione, as she went off to the bathroom with the robes she had worn before when she became Bellatrix.

When she walked back out, Ginny had the same reaction and feelings as Hermione had had on sighting Ginny in the gothic attire.

**A/N: I decided to continue to make both Ginny and Hermione a little nervous about their intimate experiences with each other, which then makes future actions mean more. Taking into account their age, and the fact they never even thought about 'being' with a woman before, I didn't want them to kiss and suddenly become the world's greatest lesbian lovers, as a lot of stories end up. I like it to feel a little awkward and even if they think it's going right, to be pulled back with a 'Ut oh was that too much?' as well. As this story can be a bit slow at times, I want to be able to show a gradual progression in a lot of areas, even when some later chapters will have events and changes flying at them with no time to take breath. :) That's the hope and plan anyway. :D**


	44. First Contact

**A/N: Their task begins... :)**

44: First Contact

Hermione saw the look of appreciation from Ginny and did a little twirl in her black old Bellatrix-style dress. The way Ginny looked at her made her feel a whole lot better about having to wear these clothes again.

"Wow," said Ginny, as she shuffled forward to sit on the end of the bed. "You look..."

"Terrible?" said Hermione with a laugh.

"No, you look...," Ginny briefly looked down. _Say it_, she thought. "You look, sexy, actually."

"You think so?" Hermione smiled, as she walked up to Ginny.

"Yes," said Ginny as she reached forward, and couldn't resist sliding her hands slowly from Hermione's waist to her hips and back again, loving the feeling of the brunette's curves.

Hermione placed her hands on Ginny's shoulders as she stood in front of her, very much enjoying the sensations the redhead's hands were giving her, in those basic movements. Brushing back the auburn red locks from Ginny's shoulders and keeping a hand softly threaded into that silky hair, she leaned down and kissed her.

Although a soft and gentle kiss, it still deepened and felt smoulderingly passionate to both women. Ginny had raised her hands up from Hermione's waist and with very little uncertainty, which surprised her, cupped Hermione's breasts through her dress. Ginny recevied a wonderful little squirmy moan from Hermione in return.

They broke the kiss, and Ginny wrapped her arms around Hermione and held her close, resting her head against the brunette's chest, who herself was holding Ginny tight. After a few moments they pulled back and Hermione sat next to her on the end of the bed.

Ginny shuffled up the bed and laid on her right side, propping her head up on her right arm. Hermione mirrored her.

"I could almost forget where we are and why," said Ginny, as she trailed an arm across and rested her hand on Hermione's hip.

"I know. It seems I can easily get lost in you too," Hermione said with a crooked smile.

"These dresses appear to really push up the boobs, don't they?" said Ginny with a little laugh, as she trailed her hand up to Hermione's bustline and without hesitation, again surprising herself, gently let her fingers lightly caress the bare swell of the tops of Hermione's breasts as the dress pushed them up.

Hermione could feel the area of bare skin tingle from Ginny's touch. "You've seen everything there and must know that I'm not as well endowed as these clothes make me," the brunette said, a little self-conscious.

"You're beautiful, Hermione," said Ginny swallowing and immediately getting a mental image of when Hermione was bare beneath her touch for the potion. "And you certainly shouldn't worry about...you know, size," she blushed, as her fingers still caressed soft flesh.

Blushing herself, Hermione smiled shyly, and leaned over to press a kiss to Ginny's lips. "I suppose we should get some lunch now and then think about our first trip to that blasted shop."

Nodding, but feeling reluctant, Ginny moved to get up from the bed. _I wish I could stay here all day. Just talking, just being with her,_ she thought. _**Kissing and touching her**_, her conscience added. _Yes, all right, maybe that too._

Hermione was thinking just the same things. _I really could just get lost in her, and let the world go by,_ she thought.

Keeping on their more traditional attire, they went downstairs and had some lunch in the pub, before going back upstairs to make sure they had the items Dumbledore had given them to 'deal' with or use when needed. Walking into Diagon Alley, they made their way to the turn off for Knockturn Alley.

"I'm a bit nervous," said Ginny.

"Me too," admitted Hermione.

"What do we do? Just go in and produce one of those manky items we have, or start vague inquiries about the Smith woman? I suppose that would be too direct to begin with...hmm..."

"I thought we might just look around the shop first and see what happens," answered Hermione. "We have to look interested in various things and we're sure to get one of the people at the shop to show an interest in _us_ being there. It's hard to plan for, so we'll have to see what happens and play it from there."

"Quidditch I _can_ play," said Ginny. "_This?_ I don't know."

"You'll be fine Gin, I know you will."

Although they had felt a little self-conscious about their clothes, they didn't get a second look from anyone in The Leaky Cauldron or in Diagon Alley, which was a good sign. Both of them had loosely tied back their hair, which made them look a little older with their current clothing. Reaching the turning to Knockturn Alley, Hermione got hold of Ginny's hand and squeezed it, they looked at each other and nodded.

"Time to make a start," said Hermione, her pulse getting faster now.

They walked down the shadowy street, passing one or two creepy-looking characters, but no one really looked at Hermione or Ginny. Borgin & Burkes wasn't far down the Alley and in no time the two women found themselves approaching the shop.

The front window wasn't exactly inviting and looked dull, and the wares they _could_ display still looked decidedly horrible. Taking a deep breath, Hermione walked up to the shop door and pushed on the handle to enter, Ginny following close behind.

It seemed fairly dark in the shop and Hermione almost wanted to use her wand to create some more light, but decided against it, hoping their eyes would adjust soon enough. They couldn't see anyone at the small shop counter, so Hermione walked to an area to the left, where there was an old table with items on top of it.

There was what appeared to be a skeleton of some small creature painted gold, or it might have been a solid gold representation of the skeleton. Next to it was an assortment of proper bones all bleached as white as could be. There was also a couple of very old-looking rings with some unknown coloured gem stones.

To the back of the table was an open wooden box which held an Egyptian ankh; it looked like it might have been silver but was now a dirty oxidized black and it was about eight inches long.

Ginny couldn't resist picking up the ankh. "We saw lots of these in Egypt, that time we went there," she said in a quiet voice to Hermione. "They supposedly have all kinds of powers."

Having picked it up she could see there were engravings all over the item and that the bottom was shaped like a dagger's point. Holding it up for a closer look, by the light of a low lamp nearby, she nearly dropped it. It seemed that the patination of blackening silver wasn't all aged metal, it had a distinct maroon tinge; just like old dried-up..._blood_.

"Oh!" Ginny muttered under her breath, as she made a fumbling attempt to put the ankh back in its box. "I should know better, considering where we are."

Hermione had looked at her, seen her distaste and realization and gently placed a hand on her arm to reassure her. "It's different, isn't it?" she said, conveying that she too knew that few of the items in the place were likely to be nice or have a pleasant history to them.

"Yes, that piece is very different," said a male voice behind them, making both women jump.

They turned to see a man with greasy straggly hair, sharp dark eyes, of average height and build. He was so average in fact, that neither woman was sure they could have picked him out in a crowd again. The type of business the man was involved with, made that fact advantageous.

"Sorry, we didn't hear you behind us," said Hermione, trying to explain why two potential customers in _this_ particular shop could be made to jump. "We were so interested in the ankh."

"I can see why, ladies," said the man. "It's an amazing object, and has been admired by many. It's very rare too."

"I've seen several ankhs," said Ginny, not quite believing the sales pitch.

"You may have, but I would doubt you have seen a genuine ankh used by a High Priest of Anubis in 2,500BC."

"It's that old?" asked Hermione, unable to resist her genuine interest in the item.

"Oh yes, it's been verified as so by many."

"What is its main use?" asked Hermione. "Or doesn't it have any special qualities now?"

The man eyed the two women, taking in their clothes and their general appearance, quickly evaluating what was safe to tell them, before lowering his voice. "It's especially good for sacrifices...err _animal_ sacrifices," he'd quickly added. "The blood shed by this ankh then acquires more power for any potions or spells used thereafter. Not that we would condone its practical use now, but it's a wonderful artefact."

_Something tells me it's used for human blood and that dried blood on the blade isn't as old as I'd like to think, or as old as _he _would like me to think,_ thought Hermione.

Ginny didn't like what she was hearing either but she was thinking of the perfect opening and with the confidence Hermione had given her, she spoke. "We were told that this was the place to come for rare and unusual items," she said. "It seems that's right?"

"Yes, yes, we hold many rare items, from both magical and muggle worlds," the man said. "Were you ladies looking for something in particular?"

"We actually have an item or two we wondered if you'd be interested in first?" said Hermione, also seeing an opening to get something to work, that Ginny had helped to provide.

"Do you have the items with you?" he asked. Hermione nodded. "Come over to the counter and I'll take a look."

"We have one item with us at the moment," said Hermione. _Breaking the ice has been easier than I imagined,_ she thought. _For the moment we seem to be doing okay._

On reaching the counter, Hermione held her beaded bag and pulled out the skeletal hand Dumbledore had given them, and laid it on the counter.

"Ah yes," said the man, picking up the hand and inspecting it closely. "We see several of these during the course of a year. They're still nice, always adds something to any potion when placed in the bottom of the cauldron. Very good for making a less than perfect Living Death draught, perfect."

"So you're interested in buying it?" asked Hermione, while thinking, _If I'd had one of those last year, I'd have beaten Harry and his blasted Potions book in Slughorn's class._

"I would be, there's always a market for them." He inspected the hand closely again, using a magnifying jeweller's loupe, then used his wand to hover over it. "Hmm, I'd give you twenty galleons for that one."

Hermione was about to accept. "I think it's worth fifty, don't you?" said Ginny, surprising her friend beside her.

_What's she doing? _thought Hermione, slightly concerned. _I hope she doesn't ruffle the bloke too much...we want him sweet, not pissed off!_

"Fifty?" the man said, deliberately studying the hand again. "It's worth twenty-five at the most."

"Forty,"

"Too steep. It's a very ordinary item."

"Thirty-five and it's yours," said Ginny. "After all, you said there's always a market for them."

"Hmm," the man muttered, but he stuck his hand out to shake Ginny's. "Fine, done. Thirty-five galleons. I'll just get you a form to sign."

As the man went out the back of the shop, Hermione avoided giggling, but touched Ginny's arm and gave her a grin. She was very impressed with the way Ginny had bartered, but later she would ask why she had done so. _Whatever made her do that, might have been a crafty bit of gamesmanship after all, _thought Hermione, relieved.

Ginny felt a combination of exhilaration and anxiety and wasn't sure where her steely resolve had come from. _Where the hell did I get the guts to do that? Somehow, I feel sure that it will help the personalities and identities we're trying to portray, but it's amazing any sound came out when I opened my mouth! _she thought. _Maybe with Hermione at my side I'm capable of anything!_ The man came back and set down a piece of parchment on the counter.

"I thought you wouldn't keep records of clients' actual purchases?" asked Hermione. Not knowing that for a fact, but assuming the type of artefacts which were dealt with, she couldn't imagine many customers wanting any trace to themselves. A client contact list was one thing, but a list of which person bought what, was entirely different and dangerous.

"We don't," said the man. "No need to worry, this is a contract, to say we have agreed on a price and the property becomes mine. Once signed the parchment disintergrates, but you wouldn't be able to take back your item again, unless you paid for it. If you tried to steal it, it would vanish and come back here."

_That's an interesting contract,_ thought Hermione. _Pity Luna couldn't have had some kind of charm like that at Hogwarts, to stop her things being taken and hidden._

"If one of you would like to sign here, please," said the man.

Ginny looked to Hermione, silently suggesting she should sign it. The brunette noticed straight away that the signature of the man was Borgin himself. She looked at all the particulars and used the quill Borgin gave her to sign _'Rose Parkinson'. _Before the ink had time to dry, the parchment broke into many pieces and disappeared into thin air.

"Is there anything else I can help you with?" Borgin asked. "I can give you a good price on anything you might like to buy here."

_In one hand and out the other,_ thought Ginny, even though she knew it wasn't her own money they were shopping with.

"We'll take another look at some of the things on the table, if that's all right?" said Hermione.

"Of course. If you need any help, just call," said Borgin.

Hermione and Ginny went back over to the table and Hermione picked up one of the boxed rings. "What do we do now?" asked Ginny in a quiet voice, as she picked up a different ring to look at.

"I'm thinking we buy something, then say we'll be back tomorrow with another item we have for him to look at," whispered Hermione, making a show of holding the ring she was looking at, up to the light. "I think we've got to let him get used to us."

"What should we buy?" asked Ginny. "Not the ankh, that's for sure...but maybe one of these rings?"

Hermione turned over the silver ring in her hands, which had a tiny green gem stone, and saw a price tag attached. It was one-hundred and sixty galleons. It made her want to suck in a breath, but she avoided it and changed it to a sigh, which could have been taken as not making her mind up.

"Which one should we go for?" asked Hermione.

"Maybe we should ask what they do?" suggested Ginny. "It will add to the overall...," she whispered. "...act."

Hermione got hold of the two rings they'd been looking at and went to the counter. "Hello?" she called.

Borgin walked back out, delighted to see that he was likely to be getting more money back than he'd paid out today. "Ah, those rings. They're wonderful, aren't they?"

"We were wondering what they were, and if they had any properties to them?" asked Ginny. "We wouldn't want both, you see."

Borgin's face gave a small hint of disappointment at that news, which Hermione noted. "They're both lovely," said Hermione, thinking fast. "But we like to collect different items and not have more than one of the same type of thing."

_That was good, Hermione,_ thought Ginny, _I think I nearly crushed him when I said we didn't want both_.

"I see," said Borgin, genuinely interested in the pair of women again. "Well the ring with the green emerald stone, was owned by Elizabeth Woodville, the muggle queen. She was frequently accused of witchcraft, as was her mother, but although they managed to suppress and fend off those rumours in muggle circles, they embraced their magical side with our ancestors."

"Ahh, so that would be the queen to the muggle King Edward IV, in the 1400s?" asked Hermione. "I've heard of her. That's fascinating. So are you saying the emerald possesses a power or is it just a rare item?"

"It's been said that any spell cast while wearing the ring, is more powerful, but we've been unable to prove it. Therefore, we sell it simply as a rare item from a famous witch."

_It could also therefore, be a load of old codswallop, and belonged to a milk maid in Wiltshire,_ thought Hermione, but not allowing her cynicism to reach her facial expressions.

"And the black stone ring?" asked Ginny.

"That one is a type of jet found up north. This ring, however, ensures that the wearer can deflect most of the minor curses, such as those annoying childish ones they still teach at Hogwarts," said Borgin with a grin. "It's an ideal gift for a younger sister, niece or god daughter. I can do you a deal on that one for one-hundred and twenty galleons."

"I like the green one," said Ginny, genuinely preferring it, but thinking like Hermione in wondering about its true provenance.

"So do I," said Hermione. She looked to Borgin again. "We'll take the green."

"Would you take one-hundred and twenty galleons for that one too?" asked Ginny, kicking into bartering mode again. _I did this before, _she thought, _so I'd better keep up to form now!_

"I'd be giving it to you for that!" said Borgin. "One-fifty!"

"One-two-five," said Ginny, stubbornly.

"One-forty."

"One-hundred and thirty and not a galleon more," said Ginny, then she thought quickly and added. "Besides, we intend to come back again, so I'm sure you'll make our purses lighter more than once this week." She smiled; it was a smile that hinted at power and knowing, but would win over anyone dealing with her.

_Well done, Gin,_ thought Hermione. _Brilliant! _The smile Ginny had given Borgin, also made Hermione want to melt and feel a little jealous that it wasn't aimed at herself.

"All right, deal," said Borgin, as he went to get another form, no doubt to make sure their ownership of the ring was properly acknowledged.

This time Ginny signed her name, as _'Virginia Wade'_, and she used money from her own purse too. She wasn't used to paying out so much money in cash like that, and she actually enjoyed the feeling. Borgin put the ring in its box and placed it in a larger box, which he then wrapped in brown paper.

"We might have another item to sell you, if you'd be interested?" asked Hermione, as Borgin handed the package to Ginny.

"You bring your things in, and I'll take a look and we'll see," he said, then looked at them again. "I can't say I've seen you ladies before. You're not local?"

_And here are the questions, finally,_ thought Hermione. She knew she'd have to give a similar story to that which they'd told Tom at The Leaky Cauldron, but it would need a small embellishment to work for their current situation.

"No we're not local," said Hermione. "We've been busy, helping the muggles with their war. We didn't have anything else to do, and it looked like it might be a bit of fun, to be honest." She was aware that Ginny's posture had tensed very slightly.

"Which side are you on?" asked Borgin, almost conspiratorially.

"The Brits and Allies," said Hermione, knowing that some of his clients would just as likely be in sympathy with Nazis. "They needed the most help, so it was a good excuse to openly use methods we normally have to hide, if you know what I mean?"

"Oh, right," he tittered, with a look of understanding.

"Anyway, it's been our first chance for ages to get to London. We'd heard from one or two people about Borgin & Burkes and finally we're able to see it," said Hermione.

_She's good at this,_ thought Ginny, _she has _me _convinced and _I _know she's talking rubbish!_

"Are you in London long?" asked Borgin.

"A couple of days. It just depends if anything keeps us interested enough to stay longer. People to see, things to look at," smiled Hermione. "Anyway, we've much enjoyed our visit to your shop today. Hopefully we'll meet again tomorrow, and we'll bring that other item we have."

"We'll be open and I'll be here," said Borgin, smiling a marginally sickly-sweet smile. "Good day ladies."

"Bye," said Ginny and Hermione as they left the shop.

Once outside, they walked several steps before they even felt they could breathe properly, and instead of stopping nearby Hermione decided she wanted to get back to Diagon Alley before they said a word to each other. Thankfully the walk wasn't far. It took all of their resolve not to break into a sprint.

Walking back through the safety of the normal shoppers of Diagon Alley, the two women finally stopped. Ginny put a hand to her face and felt sweat on her forehead, and let out a heavy sigh. "That was crazy!" she said.

"I know," said Hermione. "Where did all that wheeling and dealing come from? I was happy to take the price he told us for things?"

"I know it's not our money, but I just thought if we supposedly did deals with shops like his regularly, then we would haggle over the price and that sort of thing," Ginny said, shrugging her shoulders. "I've seen Fred and George do that lots of times, so some of it must have stuck. I haven't a clue where I got the courage to actually put it to work, though"

"It was brilliant," beamed Hermione. "You sounded so sure of it all."

"Thanks. I was ready to crap myself, if you must know! I just thought haggling over things would help the overall image," replied Ginny. "What was that about which muggles you helped and doing it for fun, though?"

"I assumed that most of Borgin & Burkes' customers would be of a darker persuasion, so I thought of the way a minon of You Know Who would answer. I think it worked."

"It made us sound callous and uncaring," said Ginny.

"Then it sounded exactly how it should," said Hermione. "I'm hoping we've left him with the impression that we prefer personal pleasure over anything else, and only do something for others if it has benefits to us or is fun. I think it worked, we'll have to see how tomorrow goes."

"I'd expected anyone working there to be more creepy than that guy?" said Ginny.

"I know what you mean. Borgin was almost personable and if I didn't know what his true character was, or later became, I'd be saying he was a very nice bloke," Hermione grimaced. "Mind you, You Know Who was supposed to be charming, so they might all be like that on the outside."

"Maybe he hasn't been turned completely sort of evil, yet?" asked Ginny.

"It's possible. He's dealing in the same horrid items though," Hermione sighed. "He's friendly enough with us at the moment, anyway."

"How I feel now, I wish we didn't have to go back there, but this is just the start, isn't it?"

"I'm afraid so," said Hermione. "We got much further today than I thought we would, though."

Ginny suddenly gave her a huge grin. "And that was _before_ we left The Leaky Cauldron!"

Hermione actually blushed, but had to chuckle at the thought. "Um, yes," she said, a little flustered, remembering their kisses and hands on breasts. "Anyway, I think we've made a good start. We'll try to flog that old book to him tomorrow."

They began to walk back towards The Leaky Cauldron. "I had no idea those horrible hand things were so popular?" asked Ginny. "I wonder where Dumbledore got it?"

"I'm sure he has his contacts," answered Hermione. "I'm just pleased it wasn't a complete flop. I feared it might be such a load of old tat that it would make us look really foolish."

"Dumbledore wouldn't have put us in that position, surely?"

"I don't know. No," said Hermione, as they got to the backyard of the Cauldron. "I just wondered if he wanted us to play stupid young bimbos, and in that case naff goods to deal with would work for that character. He never said much about it."

"He never says much about anything we're supposed to be doing," said Ginny, glumly.

"For now, we've made good choices."

Walking through the pub, they waved a 'hello' to Tom and went upstairs to their room. Ginny flopped down on the bed, stretched out and closed her eyes, feeling incredibly drained and tired. Hermione unwrapped the package from their purchase.

"If this ring we've bought _is_ real...," said Hermione, sitting on the bed next to Ginny, but leaning up against the headboard, as she looked at the ring they had bought. "It ought to be in a museum. It's part of England's heritage."

Ginny opened an eye and turned her head towards Hermione. "I don't think we can worry about that, and nor should we. There's too many other things to worry about."

"I know, it's just me being me," smiled Hermione.

"You were fantastic, Hermione," said Ginny, closing her eyes again. "So don't worry about other things too much. Borgin doesn't seem too suspicious of us yet, that's the main thing."

Feeling the bed shift as Hermione moved, Ginny opened her eyes again to see Hermione leaning over her. "You were fantastic, yourself," said Hermione, as she lowered her head and kissed Ginny.

Several minutes passed as the two women kissed. Both of them were feeling more and more at ease in each other's embrace. Finally they broke apart, with Hermione tugging playfully on Ginny's lower lip, giving a little laugh as she settled next to Ginny and laid her head on the redhead's chest, wrapping an arm around her, not able to resist placing a soft kiss on the portion of bare skin beneath her cheek. They managed to doze for a little while in that position, both feeling so much calmer after their first foray into Borgin & Burkes.


	45. Can't You See?

**A/N: A dream features in this chapter...giving a little cameo part to one of my favourite female HP characters. :)**

45: Can't You See?

Following their nap, in which both women were grateful not to have had any weird dreams, they found themselves awaking at around 5pm. After freshening up they went downstairs for some dinner. Neither had any complaint about the food, and it was as nice as the meals they had had there in their own timeline.

Not having to worry about their magical abilities inside The Leaky Cauldron, Hermione and Ginny found themselves playing some Exploding Snap and a couple of other wizard and muggle card games in their room. They both knew they had to try and keep relaxed when not setting about another trip to Borgin & Burkes, and simple games were a perfect antedote to stress.

In between games, however, it made Ginny think about all the summers holidays at the Burrow, of her brothers, and when Harry and Hermione were there too and those thoughts became stronger and stronger. _It's never going to be the same,_ Ginny thought sadly, _Fred's gone, and so is Harry. _Then another thought came to her. _If Hermione and I _do_ have something more, and I'm certain we do, then Ron may never speak to either of us again. Maybe no one will much. Mum might even stop Hermione from staying over. Nooo, surely not. Mum loves Hermione almost like another daughter. _

Hermione claimed another victory in a simple muggle card game she had taught Ginny called 'Draw the well dry', and Ginny had picked up the cards to shuffle as the thoughts kept going through her mind.

_The Burrow is going to be so different, _Ginny thought again. _Every morning, every meal, every night that Fred isn't there. How will we live with that?_

"Ginny?"

_I know I used to get annoyed with Fred and George sometimes, but I'm going to miss Fred so much, _Ginny thought, not hearing Hermione. _He was a wonderful brother, really; he and George always looked out for everyone. What must Mum and Dad be going through? And Harry gone too, they loved him like a son. _

"Ginny?"

Again Ginny didn't respond, and then she suddenly felt hands hold hers, take the deck of cards from her and arms wrap around her. When Ginny became aware of Hermione holding her she had almost taken in a sharp breath, which surprised her when it came out as more of a sob. _I'm crying?_ she thought, _what the bloody hell am I crying for? _She was completely oblivious to the fact she had been crying for a few moments before then.

"What's wrong, Ginny?" asked Hermione softly, as she sat beside her on the bed, holding her, pressing a kiss to the top of her head as she tucked her against her chest.

"I don't know," the redhead replied. "I was thinking about Fred. I didn't know I was crying. Sorry."

"Sorry?" asked Hermione. "You have nothing to be sorry for, Ginny. Especially with what you've had to deal with."

"I was being a bit morbid, I suppose," said Ginny, as she then explained how her thoughts had gone to the Burrow. Hermione had tears in her eyes as she heard it, being taken to those scenarios herself, when Fred and Harry's absence would be felt the most.

They were silent for a time as Hermione held Ginny. The redhead's tears soon dried and she felt a little irritated with herself, but greatly enjoyed the closeness with Hermione. There was a clock on the wall facing the bed and it was then turning ten o'clock.

"I'm thinking of having a wash and getting to bed," said Hermione. "It's been a draining day, in a lot of ways."

"I think it's part of my problem," said Ginny. "I'm tired." She moved slightly in Hermione's arms and briefly pressed her lips to the brunette's. "Thank you."

"No need to thank me," said Hermione, smiling. "We're here for each other, no need to ask, no need to thank."

"Oh, so would you rather I didn't give you a 'thank you' kiss in future?" smirked Ginny.

"Actions speak louder than words," Hermione said, as she pulled Ginny to her and kissed her back.

Not for the first time that day, what started out as a short fun kiss, ended up lasting a bit longer. Ginny was feeling so much for Hermione, her body was alive for her, and at the same time she felt a restlfulness within herself. After a few minutes Ginny discovered that she was almost lying back, and Hermione was hovering over her again, her hand lightly resting on her breast.

Once again they parted, both a little flushed and wearing sweet smiles. "I suppose we'd better get ourselves changed for bed," said Ginny. "I think I'm going to be lazy and point a wand at all these fiddly little buttons." She tugged at one or two; she had been wearing the old dress for most of the day now and it had been surprisingly comfortable.

Hermione covered Ginny's hand, over the buttons. "Would you let me undo them for you?"

"Um...," was all Ginny could say, not expecting the offer she had received. She could feel a bit of heat wanting to rise to her cheeks.

"You don't have to say 'yes'," said Hermione as she brushed the back of her hand against Ginny's cheek.

_Hermione basically wants to undress me?_ thought Ginny. _Merlin's pants! Okay, it's just the buttons, there's no bare flesh underneath...it will be a sort of tame dummy-run...hmm. __**Well say something, then?**_ her conscience prodded.

"I'd like that," said Ginny, as she sat up more and moved to hold Hermione's hand.

Hermione's deft fingers began to undo each of the small buttons, with Ginny watching, her breathing definitely shallower as her mind raced to all kinds of fantasies, where the buttons _did_ lead to bare flesh and not material underneath. Hermione looked up at Ginny a couple of times, giving a lovely smile, enjoying how she felt whilst also enjoying how she knew she was making Ginny feel.

All too soon all the buttons were undone, but Hermione also slackened the two laces on both sides so the dress hung more loosely. Both Hermione and Ginny realized that the bustline of the dress had dropped, exposing more breast and bra.

Looking into the redhead's face, Hermione gently reached out and cupped Ginny's breasts, holding them, letting her thumbs stroke across the bare upper areas. Ginny let out a breathy sigh and almost closed her eyes. As she did so, her lips were claimed by Hermione's again.

Ginny could almost feel herself shiver and nearly shake, with how Hermione was making her feel, with little sensations speeding from her breasts to her groin. She wrapped her arms around her friend, and after a time felt so light-headed by it all, mixed with her tiredness, that she had to break the kiss and lean her head on Hermione's shoulder.

"Are you all right?" asked Hermione in a timid voice, as she held her friend. _I got carried away again, _she thought, _I can't seem to help it when I'm with her. Ginny's been fine so far...but have I taken things too far _this _time? _

"Yeah...I don't know...you make me feel...,"

"What?" asked Hermione, worried.

"Wonderful, and a little overwhelmed," said Ginny. "I've never felt what you've been making me feel these past couple of days. It's like...it's like...," she tailed off, with a breathy sigh, unable to find the words.

"Like?"

"It's like I don't know what to do. Nooo, that sounds so ridiculous...argh," groaned Ginny as she sat back again, but held Hermione's hands. "It's like I want to feel more, and that I never want to stop feeling these sensations. It makes me feel a little unsure...nooo not unsure...it's a feeling that's pulling at me, from deep down. I want to feel you...everywhere and to make you feel what I am...urgh," she groaned again. _I'm making a right prat of myself! _she thought, irritated. "I'm sounding silly, I know. I don't know how to explain it." _I don't know how I'll ever voice some of my other concerns and wonderings, _she thought, tiredly.

Hermione had watched Ginny as she'd spoken, never believing she would hear what she had, because although it was a slightly rambling attempt, it was almost exactly how Hermione felt. Ginny made her feel things she never had with Ron, not even in her wildest dreams or fantasies about him. It was just as Ginny said, a sensation that pulled at her from deep down...not just a physical feeling, but more than that.

"I think you explained it fairly well," said Hermione. "It's how you've been making me feel too. I think it's a sign that what we've been feeling is true, and not just some weird side effect from stress or odd thoughts being provoked by our strange dreams. What we've been feeling is real."

"I know that now," said Ginny. "It's such a different feeling to how I felt about Harry. The best way I can explain it is, if it were the difference between a crush and reality, then you are the reality. It feels stronger with you, deeper, different."

Hermione leaned in and placed a kiss on Ginny's lips. "Well, I'm glad we let each other in," she said, then smirked. "I'm glad you let me undo your buttons."

"It didn't really undo anything, though...no bare skin showing," said Ginny with a laugh. "But thank you for helping me out."

"Any time!" laughed Hermione. "Anyway, you go get changed for bed, then we can snuggle up for some sleep.

Ginny felt unable to wipe the smile off her face, as she got up and went into the bathroom. _I think I'm going to enjoy the moment when she can really undress me,_ she thought.

As Hermione sat on the bed, brushing off some lint from her pyjama bottoms, as she waited to use the bathroom, she couldn't stop smiling either. _This is all real, _she thought, _I can feel how real it is. Ginny feels it too. And although it didn't really reveal anything, my god, I liked undoing her buttons. Whew, that was good! I'm still never going to rush her into anything, though; if what we have is real, and it is, then there isn't any rush to go further, not yet._

"The bathroom is all yours," said Ginny as she strode back into the bedroom, placing her dress onto a hanger, to hang from the wardrobe door.

In a short time both of them were in the bed, having shared a slow, soft goodnight kiss and snuggled close together. With the lights dimmed, both still not wanting a totally dark room, they dropped off to sleep.

Not knowing how long into sleep it had been, Hermione found herself dreaming..._zzzzzzz_

Straight away Hermione realized she was at the Burrow, but oddly seemed to be alone in the kitchen. _What am I doing here? Why isn't there anyone in the kitchen? _she thought.

Hermione walked through to the living room and found that to be empty too. She walked upstairs to Ginny's room, knocked on the door and entered, to find that room empty. Another set of stairs and Ron's room also appeared to be empty, so she went to the attic at the very top of the house.

As she climbed the ladder and poked her head up into the attic, expecting it to be empty like everywhere else, she nearly fell off the ladder, when she was greeted by Tonks and one of the Weasley twins. They appeared to be sitting side by side looking at photo albums.

"Hello?" Hermione said.

Both of the attic's occupants turned their heads and smiled. "Wotcha, Hermione!" said Tonks. Fred or George, she wasn't sure which one it was yet, smiled at her and waved.

"What are you doing up here?" asked Hermione, as she climbed the last steps and entered the attic.

"Just looking at things," said Tonks.

Sitting opposite the two familiar faces, Hermione peered over to look at the photo album they were so engrossed in. "What's that?" she asked.

"Just some photos of all the Order members," said Tonks, grinning. "It was Fred's idea."

"Fred?"

"Yeah, George and I photographed nearly everyone in the Order and made an album. A record of everyone...although of course, these wouldn't pass as professional. We liked to capture people when they least expected it."

_So it's Fred up here with Tonks,_ thought Hermione. _Hmm, a slightly strange pairing...oh well, that's dreams!_

"Can I take a look?" asked Hermione.

Tonks nodded and handed her one of the albums, it appeared there was more than one. Hermione turned the pages of magical moving photos and was immediately looking at Dumbledore, eating a jam doughnut, oblivious to the fact that some of the jam was oozing out the other side of it and dripping onto his beard; she couldn't help but laugh.

The next page she saw was Sirius flipping pancakes the muggle way, using a frying pan, in the kitchen at Grimmauld Place, with one ending up over Dobby's head. _What's Dobby doing with Sirius?_ she wondered, _shouldn't it be Kreacher?_ There was one of Lupin fast asleep in an armchair with Tonks placing a flowery hat on his head. All the photos were amusing.

Hermione continued to turn the pages of the album and found photos showing Snape mixing what look liked cocktails in the Grimmauld Place living room. _Bizarre!_ she thought. There was a photo of who she assumed was Fred, playing cards with Dumbledore; she assumed it was Fred due to the sweater he was wearing with a big 'F' on it. Then there was a photo of Harry, weirdly bathing Hedwig. _I've never seen _that _before!_ she thought.

Whatever Hermione had been feeling, it didn't prepare her for the next page, where she found herself looking upon a photo of herself and Ginny. They were sitting on the sofa at the Burrow, with Hermione sitting and Ginny stretched out with her head in Hermione's lap, as the brunette played with strands of Ginny's hair.

"Oh!" said Hermione. _Well, none of this is real, because it's a dream and I know no one has ever taken a photo of us like that, and certainly not at the Burrow!_ she thought.

"Yes, that _is_ an interesting photo, isn't it?" said Fred with a raised eyebrow.

"Is it?" said Hermione.

"Can't you see?" asked Tonks.

"See?" questioned Hermione. "What should I be seeing?"

Tonks nudged Fred and failed to stop a small snort of laughter. Hermione was obviously showing an expression of confusion or anger because Tonks soon explained herself.

"Sorry, Hermione," said the woman. "I'm not laughing at you, I'm laughing at me, because for once I seem to have an answer to something you don't know."

"Well, what is it I'm supposed to be seeing?" asked a slightly frustrated Hermione. _Yes, what is it?_ she thought.

"What's different about the photo of you and Ginny, to the others in that album?" asked Fred.

"Er...," Hermione swallowed, feeling very self-conscious, "We're...we're two girls together?"

Fred gave a little laugh and Tonks shook her head. "Noooo, wrong answer...ten points from Gryffindor!" Tonks laughed.

"I don't know, then," said Hermione. "Just tell me and stop messing me around?"

"Surely you can see it, can't you?" asked Fred. "I thought you were supposed to be intelligent?"

"Well obviously I'm not as intelligent as you think I am!" said Hermione in an angry voice. "Are you going to tell me what it is? Or are you going to piss me off as much as possible?" _I wouldn't talk to them like that in real life, would I?_ she thought, disturbed.

"All right," said a grinning Tonks. "The difference is, you two are the only ones alive in that album. The rest of us...have snuffed it."

"_Snuffed it_?" repeated Fred, quizzically. "I prefer the phrase 'kicked the bucket', because it sounds like you go out with a fight. 'Snuffing it', sounds like a granny dying after a sneeze."

"Fine...the rest of us in the album have kicked the bucket," said Tonks.

"Thank you," said Fred.

Hermione had been looking from one of them to the other, realizing the truth of what they'd said as soon as they'd said it. "So, is there some great point to that, or is it just an observation?" she asked.

"Can't you see?" asked Tonks.

_Oh for god's sake_, thought Hermione, _this is going round and around_. "No I can't see, I'm blind to whatever the hell it is you're trying to show me. So, will you kindly stop piddling around and just tell me whatever it is I'm supposed to see?"

Fred made a show of mock shock at Hermione's mildly harsh words, before letting out a small titter. He looked at her face again and went serious, as did Tonks.

"We're showing you what you have to prize above all else," said Tonks. "What we never had long enough to enjoy properly or experience."

"Do you mean Ginny and I?" asked Hermione.

"Yes, in a way," said Fred. "When you find something special you have to go for it and whatever struggles you face it will be worth it. That goes for life too, but mostly my sister."

"I know that already," said Hermione. "That's why I finally had the guts to even approach the fact that I felt something for her."

"We're talking about the future," said Tonks. "What's to come. Don't ever give up."

"I wouldn't anyway, you know that."

"Just making sure you _do_ know that," said Fred, grinning. "True love is worth any struggles, worth any turmoil."

"True love?" asked Hermione.

"You do love Ginny, don't you?" asked Fred.

The dream-Hermione was silent as the real Hermione was pushed into deep thought too. _Love?_ she thought, _do I love Ginny? Really love? How is it, I've never thought about it? Probably because things have been happening so fast in so many ways!_

"Do you want to be with her all the time?" asked Tonks. "Do you want to protect her? Do you think of her first thing in the morning and last thing at night? Does she make you feel physical and mental sensations you've never felt before? Does your heart beat faster for her? Would you give your life for her?"

"Yes," said Hermione in a quiet voice. _Yes,_ she thought, _my answer is 'yes' to all of that._

"Do you...," Tonks continued, but was cut off.

"Yes, I get it," said Hermione. "I know what you're trying to say. It's been so soon, though, we've only started to get closer for mere days? Also there's the fact that Harry's hardly cold yet...metaphorically and nearly literally speaking."

"Love can be at first sight," said Fred. "Although I doubt anyone would fall in love with Umbridge at first sight!"

"It just feels so soon to be contemplating love?" Hermione questioned. "I doubt Ginny has thought of it either."

"Maybe she has, maybe she hasn't," said Fred. "Or maybe she feels the same and hasn't recognized it. Anyway, it's wrong to run away from what you really feel."

"What is the point of me admitting to this, anyway?" asked a flustered Hermione.

"That _is_ the point," said Tonks. "Days and years passing in seconds, situations and circumstances rushing at you like speeding broomsticks. You need to know how you really feel, because now you know, your choices and decisions will mean so much more. You'll know what the limits are and what can be done and not done, and the added strength it will give to all decisions. You'll know now."

_Are they talking generally or just about Ginny?_ thought Hermione."Choices, limits?" she asked. "Do you mean in the tasks we're doing for Dumbledore or...our relationship?"

But neither Tonks nor Fred answered; they smiled and nodded their heads and began to fade and disappear.

"Wait! Tell me?" demanded Hermione. "What bits were you talking about?" But the warm smiles and the faces expressing them had completely gone. "Tonks? Fred?"..._zzzzzzz_

Hermione awoke with a jerk of her head and gave a quick look around, almost expecting to see Tonks or Fred at the end of the bed or somewhere in the room.

"Hermione?"

The brunette turned her head sideways and was faced by Ginny, lying next to her, eyes open and looking at her with concern.

"Bad dream?" asked the redhead.

"Not really, just strange," replied Hermione.

"This is going to sound odd, but I could have sworn you called out Tonks' and...and Fred's names?"

"They were in my dream," said Hermione, as she turned herself to fully face Ginny. "It was all nonsense stuff and they showed me some bizarre photos." She told Ginny about the photo album, which made her chuckle, and also told her that it was like a message to keep fighting for what was right and to look after each other. She omitted the discussion of love.

"Of course we'll keep on fighting," said Ginny, cheerfully.

"I know," replied Hermione. "That's another reason I thought it was strange, because they weren't telling me anything we didn't already know. Oh well." _I'm not going to mention the love thing, _she thought, _not yet, anyway. _"Did you have any dreams?"

"I don't remember any," said Ginny.

"I'm glad," said Hermione, as she leaned over and kissed the redhead, softly. "I didn't mean to wake you up."

"Well, fair's fair. I've woken you up more times than I can count!"

Hermione looked at the clock in the room and it was showing four o'clock. "We still have plenty of sleep time yet," she said, as she snuggled closer to Ginny.

Ginny pressed her lips to Hermione's again and settled once more, closing her eyes. Hermione watched her for a few minutes, and just looking at the young woman, still feeling the tingle on her lips which always occurred when they kissed, she accepted something. _I love Ginny,_ she thought, _I think I really love her. I don't know when I'll ever be able to tell her, but that dream really has made me see it. Thank you Fred and Tonks. You've made things potentially more difficult, but thank you! _Hermione then closed her eyes, relishing in the closeness with Ginny and found restful sleep.

XXXXXXXXXX

Morning found them both waking from a dreamless last few hours, and their bodies and minds felt restored of their energy. Not having to wake up at a particular time, they saw that the clock was then hitting 9am.

"Looks like we slept in, a little?" said Hermione stretching.

"We obviously needed the sleep," said Ginny. "Plus you had that weird dream, you needed some more rest after that."

Although feeling refreshed for the moment, they knew they would need every ounce of energy they had, as they were planning to go back to Borgin & Burkes again.

Washed and dressed back in their gothic dresses, they had some late brunch downstairs, pleased again that they didn't have to worry so much about their presence in the pub, and the food was also familiarly nice.

Back in their room, neither of them seemed to be in much of a hurry to get ready to leave, both knowing where their destination was again. Hermione was rummaging through her beaded bag and Ginny had taken out her WAAF uniform from the wardrobe and was looking over it, but even she couldn't have said why she felt she needed to do that now.

Hermione was aware of their subtle reluctance. "We're procrastinating, aren't we?" she said.

"Are we?" replied Ginny.

"Well, we're both finding things to faff around with, and taking longer to fold up clothes and so on. I mean, it's understandable...but we can't put off our course of action."

Ginny looked at the WAAF jacket she had been inspecting for plucks or things that needed fixing, when she really knew it was perfectly fine. "I see what you mean," she said, as she put the jacket back onto a hanger in the wardrobe.

"We can ease into it," said Hermione, thinking of an idea to soften their task for the day. "It's almost lunch time, why don't we go and get a cup of tea or an icecream in that cafe we went to yesterday, then go on to Borgin & Burkes after that?"

"Yeah, that sounds like a good idea," said Ginny. "I just need to pick up my little bag, and I'm ready. Are you?"

"Yes, all set," said Hermione. She went over to Ginny, wrapped her arms around her and hugged her, being immediately embraced back. "We're going to be fine. We survived yesterday and we know more now...it will feel easier."

"Will it?"

"All right, maybe not easier, but at least we know a bit more about the shop and Borgin; yesterday was potentially the worst day, because we could have messed up so many things and made things worse. Yesterday was a success," said Hermione, moving back from the hug, and then leaning in to gently kiss Ginny on the lips. "Come on, let's go have a cuppa, then get set for round two!"

Ginny let out a huge resigned sigh. "Right, let's go."


	46. Round Two

**A/N: I wrote this chapter a while ago, and every time I've revisited it I've been left with one feeling: I wish I had a headache that needed curing by a certain 'someone'. ;)**

46: Round Two

Hermione and Ginny had enjoyed a cup of tea at the cafe in Diagon Alley, and had been drawn to a rather magnificent slice of gateau as well. Both were aware of dawdling a little once more. However, after Ginny pointed this out with a simple, "We're doing it again," they had both felt amused, rolled their eyes at each other and braced themselves for their next trip to Borgin & Burkes.

Walking down the narrow, dank and dull street, which was Knockturn Alley, they arrived at the shop again. Taking an extra little breath, Ginny led them inside to the creepy and shaded shop within.

Borgin was at the counter this time, reading the Daily Prophet, and looked up when the women entered. "Hello again, ladies," he said.

"Hello," said Ginny.

"Did you bring that other item for me to look at?" he asked.

_Hells bells!_ thought Hermione, _he obviously doesn't forget anything._ _That can be good _and _bad for us. _"Yes," answered Hermione, as she and Ginny made their way to the shop counter. She pulled out the old book, knowing it to be full of basic curses and hoping that it wasn't too tame for the likes of Borgin.

"What do we have here?" said Borgin, as Hermione handed the book to him. "Hmm," he said, as he flipped a few pages, then scrutinzed the leathery binding.

"Would you be interested in the book?" asked Hermione.

"Well, it's definitely interesting in itself," he said. "Can I ask where you acquired it?"

_Bugger, think think,_ thought Hermione.

"It was amongst the belongings of an old aunt of mine," answered Ginny, coming to the rescue. "After she died we found all sorts of items in her house."

"That would explain it's wonderful condition," said Borgin.

_Looks like an old tatty piece of crap to me,_ thought Ginny, _but at least my answer sounded convincing_.

"Have you...tried any of the recommendations in the book?" asked Borgin.

"No," said Hermione, regaining her composure again. "We weren't entirely sure what everything did...we...we didn't want to attract unwanted attention."

_She's back on form again,_ thought Ginny, relieved that Hermione had found her feet once more.

"Yes, yes, of course I understand that," smiled Borgin. "No one wants the Ministry breathing down our necks."

_What sort of book _is_ that?_ thought Hermione. Ginny was wondering on that too, but trying to keep her facial expressions neutral.

"It won't do my dealings any good to tell you this, but I've only ever seen a handful of other copies of this particular book," said Borgin as he flicked through the pages."And the last one I saw was partially burned and missing pages."

"It's rare, then?" asked Hermione.

"Yes."

"We had no idea," said Ginny. "It looked curious, but we're far more interested in other artefacts than old books, so we didn't give it much thought."

_Brilliant Ginny!_ thought Hermione. _That's making it sound realistic._

"We confess to not looking at much of it, but from what we could see, it held some very light curses, nothing particularly powerful," said Hermione, her inquisitiveness hoping to be appeased.

"That's true, there's nothing in here that's particularly damaging, nothing that a trip to St. Mungo's couldn't cure," said Borgin, brushing back a strand of his greasy hair. "But this book is very old...very old, indeed. It's been thought copies of this were made between 1200-1350...no one knows the exact date."

"Really?" asked Hermione.

"Yes. The spells are quite mild, but they're old and almost forgotten today, and their structure...," Borgin lowered his voice considerably. "In the hands of particularly gifted witches or wizards, these spells and curses are easier to modify than our modern day counterparts. An interesting book...," he said, his concentration momentarily drifting off.

"It comes down to price, now," said Ginny, readying herself to do a deal with the man again.

"Two-hundred galleons," said Borgin.

"Is that really what you think a book that rare and in that condition is worth?" asked the redhead, in a even tone.

"I thought you said you didn't know anything about the book? Two hundred is a very generous price," said Borgin, his eyes staring sharply at Ginny, trying to get his way.

"You mistake us," said Ginny. _Come on, pounce, set out your stall,_ she thought. "We know very little about _that_ particular book, but we do know about dealing and values." She was aware of Hermione almost turning her head to look at her, and stopped herself from smiling.

_Shit, she's getting good at this, _thought Hermione, enthralled and feeling very proud of her friend.

"Hmm," Borgin mildly muttered. "Two-hundred and seventy-five."

"We were thinking, more around three-fifty," said Ginny, confidently.

"Three-fifty?" Borgin repeated, with a well rehearsed mortified reaction.

"Come now, I'm sure with your shop's far-reaching reputation and clientele, you could easily sell it on for four-fifty or more?" suggested Ginny.

For the moment Hermione had remained silent and was just keeping a pleasant expression on her face. _And Ginny was worried she couldn't act the part?_ she thought. _She's fantastic, and edging into every little nook and cranny we need to portray and delve into! _

Borgin handled the book again, sliding fingers over the spine and inspecting certain pages.

"We hope to buy something else from you today, so really you're getting the book for even less, aren't you?" said Hermione, coming to life once more and hoping to give them an even better advantage.

"Welllll," said the man. "All right, three-fifty." He reached his hand out to shake Ginny's, then went to get a form for her to sign.

As Borgin found up the correct form, Hermione felt for Ginny's left hand, which was nearest to her and gave it a quick squeeze. The redhead turned and gave her a wink. Hermione wanted to kiss her, there and then. _Concentrate!_ she admonished herself.

Signing the papers and placing a lot more gold into one of their purses, the two young women indicated that they would be taking a look at some of the other items in the shop.

"Absolutely, and if you need any help, give a shout," said Borgin, feeling even less worried about how much he'd paid for the book, knowing he was likely to get some of it back. However, he also knew that he wasn't dealing with a couple of flighty dim-witted women, but two witches who knew a lot more about the world than it would seem on appearances alone.

Hermione had wandered over to a bookshelf, next to the table of items they had looked at the day before. There were three shelves, with several items on them. "What shall we go for today?" asked Hermione, in a slightly louder voice than normal, to make sure Borgin heard some of it too.

"Let's look and see what interests us," replied Ginny, understanding the whole impression they were trying to give. In reality her stomach was giving her little flutterings of apprehension, making her feel slightly nauseous.

Ginny picked up what she thought was a crystal ball, but saw that it wasn't clear and the inside of it looked cloudy and black. Not being a huge fan of ordinary Divination, she put it back onto its stand and scanned the shelves for something else.

Meanwhile, Hermione had picked up a necklace. It looked very old, but she handled it carefully, remembering all too well the necklace that Draco Malfoy had cursed, hoping it would end up in Dumbledore's hands. The item was gold; the gorgeous and impossibly thin strands of gold had been woven together to form an almost rope-like single strand and the pendant which hung from it was a small running hare also in gold, with a tiny red ruby for the eye.

"That's nice," said Ginny, as she looked at what Hermione was holding. "Isn't Luna's patronus a hare?"

"Yes it is," said Hermione. She looked at the price tag. "Four hundred galleons."

"Whew!"

"Let's see what it does, or what it is," said Hermione, as she took it back to the counter.

"Ahhh, yes, the necklace of Andrasta," said Borgin.

"Andrasta?" asked Ginny.

"This is where magical meets mystical meets muggle," said Borgin with a grin. "Andrasta was a warrior goddess, known by other similar names, but most associated with the Iceni tribe of what is now Norfolk."

"Boudica," said Hermione. Both Borgin and Ginny looked at her.

"You know of the legend?" asked Borgin.

"I've read a bit about her," said Hermione, hoping she didn't give away her muggle heritage. "She was Queen of the Iceni, and almost defeated the Romans and nearly kicked them out of Britain. It's been said that she had certain abilities, possibly magical and that some of her followers believed she invoked the goddess Andrasta before battle and even became her. The hare was symbolic of both Andrasta and Boudica."

"It was indeed," said Borgin.

"So what is the history to this piece?" asked Hermione.

"The necklace is believed to be Iceni, and the high level of workmanship proves that. Perhaps Boudican in date, maybe 50-60AD," said Borgin, as he handled the necklace and pendant."

"Is the pendant later?" asked Hermione.

"We're not absolutely certain about that. The necklace has quite a bit of provenance and before being hidden away in a client's ancient family home for generations, it was in the possession of another famous muggle woman," the shop owner grinned.

"And that was?" asked Ginny.

"Ever heard of Anne Boleyn?" he asked.

"That _is_ interesting," said Hermione. _It might be another load of old tripe_, she thought, _but I'd agree that the necklace is ancient. And it looks a lot like the Iceni jewellery I saw at the British Museum once. Although the craftsmanship far exceeds even the great torques I saw there...this is dainty, perfect even._

"Anne Boleyn?" asked Ginny. "Wasn't she falsely accused of witchcraft? She wasn't a witch at all?"

_Ginny knows about Anne Boleyn?_ thought Hermione, surprised. _I'll ask her later about that._

"There's no way of knowing for sure," said Borgin. "She was accused of it, may only have dabbled as a squib might, but she did own that piece you're holding now. Thankfully for us and for you, she gave it to one of her favourites, a long time before she was made a head shorter by the executioner and you hold it now. Where this piece was, between being made and settling into Anne Boleyn's possession, we have no idea."

"Any known properties with the pendant or necklace?" asked Hermione.

"We rarely know absolute, exact usage," said Borgin, carefully. "But if it's connected to Andrasta, then it protects the wearer in battle, almost ensuring a victory in whatever the person undertakes."

_Another lot of piffle, no doubt,_ thought Hermione, _it obviously didn't help Boudica or Anne in the end, did it? However, I'm sure he knows exactly what some of his other creepy items do! _ "Hmm, it's very tempting," she said, eyeing the item on the counter.

"I like it, it's rather nice," said Ginny, before looking at Borgin. "I'm sure we can come to an agreement on price?"

"It's yours for three-twenty," said Borgin.

"Three-twenty?" said Ginny. "No no, I was thinking around two-ten."

"Two-hundred and ten galleons?" exclaimed Borgin. "You'd be robbing me! Two-eighty."

"Are you sure that's the piece you want?" Ginny asked Hermione, trying to distract Borgin a little.

"Yes, I think it's fascinating. We certainly don't have anything else like it," answered Hermione.

"I like it a lot too, but two-eightty?" Ginny handled the necklace again, then looked up at the man. "How about two-forty?"

"I'd hardly be breaking even on that!" exclaimed Borgin.

_You probably got it cheap, and it was stolen in the first place, you slimy git,_ thought Hermione.

"Two hundred and fifty galleons," said Ginny. "That's my final offer."

Borgin seemed to wince slightly, which was all an act. "Well, it's not every day I get to serve such nice, young and knowledgable ladies, so yes, deal," he said as he shook Ginny's hand again.

_Yuck, give me a bucket!_ thought Hermione, as she listened to the rather sickly sentence.

After the now familiar transaction process was completed and the gold had been exchanged, Borgin wrapped up their latest buy. "Will I be seeing you again soon, or are you moving on now?" he asked.

"We're not sure, but we might be around tomorrow, if time permits," said Hermione. "There might be another item or two we would like you to look at."

"You know where I am, now," said Borgin, smiling.

"Anyway, thank you for today, it's been most enjoyable and enlightening," said Hermione.

"Thank you," said Ginny, as they both walked to the door.

"You ladies are welcome any time," said Borgin.

_Of course we are_, thought Hermione, _you're getting goods from us and money from us as we buy _your_ dubious goods._

As the previous day, they didn't talk as they walked back to Diagon Alley and kept to an even leisurely pace, in case they were being watched. Yet again it felt like a huge relief to walk back onto the main concourse of Diagon Alley and be surrounded by more normal shoppers and shop fronts.

"Do you want to stop anywhere else?" Hermione asked Ginny.

"No, I just want to get back to our room." Ginny had begun to feel a headache stir and her stomach didn't feel too good either.

In a few minutes they were entering their room at The Leaky Cauldron, where Ginny immediately flopped down onto the bed, laid on her back and crossed her arms over her face, taking deliberate deep breaths.

Hermione placed their latest wrapped purchase onto the small table in the room, then went to sit on the bed next to Ginny. "You were absolutely amazing today!" she said.

"Thanks," the redhead said. "My stomach was doing backflips through most of it. I have no idea how I got through it."

"You were far better at everything than me," said Hermione. "I think we rammed home a lot of information for Borgin to take in today. Today was even better than yesterday!"

"Hmm," said Ginny, her arms still over her head.

"Are you okay, Gin?"

"I've got a headache, that's all."

"How long have you had it?"

"It struck just before we got back to Diagon Alley," replied Ginny wearily, as she began to feel her head pound. "It's the kind that feels like I have someone shooting spells at me and they're bouncing off the inside of my skull. The kind that makes my stomach feel like I've swallowed a bad batch of butterbeer."

Hermione gently moved Ginny's arms from her face and head, and placed a kiss on the girl's forehead, on each temple, and then briefly on her lips. "I'm sorry, but I don't have any headache potion in my bag, and I'm not sure about the amounts we could use of that healing potion Dumbledore gave us."

"I'll be fine," said Ginny.

"I can go and ask Tom, he can direct me to one of the shops in the Alley. I don't remember seeing that potions shop which was here in our own time."

"Don't run around on my account, it's only a headache."

"Yes, but it's not pleasant to have, and besides it wouldn't hurt to have some headache potion with us, would it?" suggested Hermione.

"Are you okay going by yourself?" asked Ginny. "I mean, of course, I know you are...it's just different in this situation, that's what I meant."

Hermione smiled. "I know what you meant, and I'll be fine. In the meantime...," she got up and went into the bathroom, and soaked a cloth in cold water, bringing it back to Ginny. "Have this on your forehead. A cold cloth always helps me when I have a headache." She placed the cloth over Ginny's head, gave her a peck on the lips, and made her way to the door. "I won't be long."

Ginny could honestly say she didn't like being left alone, but she was feeling really drained and her headache was debilitating. She usually got headaches when she faced a lot of stress, and considering everything, she was amazed she hadn't had more before now. She closed her eyes and tried to blank her mind of thoughts about their day and the dizzying amounts of information it had brought.

Hermione hated to see Ginny hurting. _I know it's only a headache,_ she thought, _but I don't like the idea of her suffering, not after the brilliant bit of work she did today. _Then she had to smile at another thought, _Don't say I'm entering the 'I hurt when she hurts' phase? So what! I care about her...and yes, I love her. __**You're admitting it? **_her conscience chirped in. _Not the first time is it? I admitted as much in that dream. Yes, I love her. __**Yippee! **__Oh shut up!_

Tom had directed her to one of the shops in Diagon Alley which wasn't there in their own time and which made Hermione think of an ancient apothecary's straight from a Shakespearean play. She was able to buy a bottle of headache potion simply and quickly and made her way back to The Leaky Cauldron.

Opening the door slowly and quietly, in case Ginny had dropped off to sleep, she looked to the bed and saw the red-haired woman lying there, and she was struck by a feeling deep within herself. It was like something inside her was pulling, almost painfully and tugging her to Ginny, like a magnet. _She's beautiful,_ thought Hermione, and then slightly amused, _even with a cloth over her head, she's beautiful. I'm still not sure how I've gone from yearning after Ron to wanting his sister, but whatever the reason I know which Weasley I'm interested in now._

"Hermione?"

"Yes it's me," the brunette replied. "Not room service or the cleaners."

"That was quick?"

"Yeah, I didn't have far to walk and there was no one in front of me at the shop," said Hermione. "I've got some potion for you." Quickly reading the label, Hermione retrieved a teaspoon from her beaded bag and sat next to Ginny, who now sat up. "One spoon for mild, two for bad. Go for two, then."

"I've had them worse," replied Ginny. "I'll go for one and a half." Ginny poured out the measures and downed them, grimacing slightly. "Tastes like rat piss!"

"I wouldn't know," chuckled Hermione.

"Oh...you know what I mean!" said Ginny.

"I think you should try and get a nap now," said Hermione, taking back the potion bottle and putting it on a side table. "Let the potion do its work."

"Yes Doctor!" laughed Ginny. She did lay on her side and make herself comfortable, though.

Hermione unrolled a blanket from the bottom of the bed and covered Ginny. "I know it's not freezing cold in here, but you might lose heat when you drop off." As she pulled up the blanket over her 'patient', Ginny caught hold of her hand.

"Thanks," said Ginny.

Hermione simply leaned over and pressed her lips to Ginny's. "I hope the headache goes soon."

"What will you be doing while I'm snoozing?"

"Reading, I expect," said Hermione, with a smile.

Ginny yawned and settled back, where the weariness of the day, her headache and the potion soon made her drift off into a peaceful sleep.

Hermione waved her wand at the packaged necklace to avoid disturbing Ginny with any rustling of paper and inspected their purchase.

_Again, this should be in a museum,_ she thought, as she handled the necklace from its box and looked at the hare pendant. As she stared at the hare she could have sworn that its ruby eye twinkled at her. She brought it closer to her eyes and tilted it back and forth against the light and whatever the reason the eye looked almost alive. _Something tells me that might be the magic in it,_ she thought. _If only this hare could talk, and tell me if he or she really did belong to Anne Boleyn once, or even Boudica herself. It would be a fascinating coincidence because if I remember correctly Anne was born in Norfolk, the Boleyn family originated from there...so owning some Iceni jewellery was very fitting. Or, I could just be holding a very convincing fake, making everything else irrelevant._

Opening her beaded bag, Hermione pulled out their last item that Dumbledore had given them for dealing purposes; the almost fossilized dragon's egg. It was a beautiful item in reality and would have made a lovely paperweight or doorstop, as Dumbledore had joked. _We have one more deal and then, unless we keep buying, we need to get close enough to Borgin or his so far unseen partner, Burke, to get Hepzibah's address._

Hermione felt a little tired herself now and thought it might be from their day and her thoughts about their next visit to the shop. Looking briefly at the clock and seeing there were still a couple of hours before they needed to think about dinner, she lay next to Ginny.

Getting under the blanket, Hermione placed herself up close to Ginny's back and very naturally decided to wrap an arm around the redhead. Ginny stirred a little, got hold of Hermione's hand and settled again. Smiling, feeling so close to her friend, _she's more than a friend now_, she thought, Hermione closed her eyes, inhaling the scent of Ginny's hair, mere inches in front of her.

XXXXXXXXXX

A couple of hours later, Ginny awoke from her nap, her head a little sore, but the headache gone, and had to grin when she found Hermione was hugging her from behind and she had her hand resting over the brunette's. _Blimey, we're like an old married couple!_ she thought.

"How's the head?" asked a yawning Hermione.

Ginny had been taken by surprise and almost flinched. "I didn't realize you were awake too? Come to think of it, I didn't know you went to sleep?"

"I was feeling a bit tired, so I joined you."

Wriggling and turning round to face Hermione, Ginny placed a gentle kiss on Hermione's lips. "My head's much better, thanks to you."

"I'm pleased," smiled Hermione.

"For some reason this afternoon really sapped my energy," said Ginny, stifling a yawn. "I think we made some good gains though. I think Borgin might even be liking us."

"He likes our money, anyway!"

"True, but he's not acting as though we're in the wrong shop and he'd rather we shopped somewhere else, which means...,"

"It means he doesn't suspect us of anything...or certainly not anything that might harm him or his shop," said Hermione.

"Do we go back there tomorrow?" asked Ginny.

"We have one more item to try and flog to him, so as we're on a roll, we might as well."

"I know we piddled about a bit today and kept trying to delay getting to the shop, but I'm all for trying to get this task done," said Ginny.

"Agreed," replied Hermione. "You were brilliant again today...you had _me_ fooled! And a couple of times I..." She couldn't complete the sentence, feeling a bit embarrassed.

"A couple of times you...what?" asked a curious Ginny.

Hermione gave a big sigh. "I really wanted to kiss you, there and then in the shop. You were so good in there today."

Ginny gave a beaming smile, before leaning forward and kissing Hermione, gently nibbling at the woman's lips. "Well, if you _had_ kissed me, it would certainly have given Borgin something to think about!"

Hermione laughed, and reached a hand across to touch and stroke Ginny's cheek. "He'd be jealous...that I was the one kissing you and not him." The brunette leaned in and gave Ginny a kiss back, before remembering something else. "I know what I wanted to ask you. You know about Anne Boleyn?"

"Yes."

"But she's muggle...there was no proof she was a witch. Certainly not a witch like us. Did you read a muggle book?"

"No, she's sometimes spoken of in the magical world due to the suspicion of witchcraft. Magical families tend to know about the bigger cases like that. Things like the trials of the Witches of Pendle, Salem and so on, but with Anne Boleyn my brothers were really interested, so I picked up everything from them talking about her," said Ginny.

"Why did they find _her_ so interesting? Were they thinking about her supposed beauty and dreaming of being her knight in shining armour?" giggled Hermione.

"No, they were fascinated by the fact she had her head cut off, and by a sword instead of a regular axe."

"Oh...that's horrid!"

"Boys, men...I rest my case!" chuckled Ginny.

"But you didn't know about Elizabeth Woodville or Boudica?"

"The first one I did know about, but only a little as she seemed a bit boring and she didn't lose her head, did she?" asked Ginny, and when Hermione shook her head. "That's probably the reason I didn't know much about her, not interesting enough for my brothers. As for Boudica, I don't know why I didn't know much about her...perhaps it's because her main history is in a muggle context and the other things are more mystical wonderings than actual magical fact?"

"Hmm, that might be true," thought Hermione. "Anyway, if these two items' provenance is true, and I'm a little cynical on that, then we own two fascinating objects."

"So that headache potion you bought?" inquired Ginny. "Was it from a shop that isn't there in our proper time?"

"Yeah, I don't remember it, nor it being placed anywhere else in the street. It wasn't far from that Magical Menagerie place."

"It's open in 1945?"

"Seems so," said Hermione. "I didn't go in, but I suppose it might be the same family running it."

On seeing the Magical Menagerie Hermione had been struck by some thoughts she hadn't had for months. Having tried not to worry about Crookshanks when she left the Burrow to begin the search for horcruxes, knowing the Weasleys would care for him, Hermione was now feeling, for the first time, a real yearning to ruffle the cat's fur and feel his warmth as he curled up on her lap and purred.

"Are you okay?" asked Ginny, seeing Hermione's expression change and look sad.

"Knowing what Harry, Ron and I had to do, I tried to push away thoughts about Crookshanks, because I knew you and your parents would take care of him...but, seeing and thinking of that shop I got him from, I just thought about him again. Part of me wishes I hadn't thought of him, and the other part feels guilty that I didn't think of him before."

"He was doing fine when I left," Ginny reassured. "He loved watching the gnomes in the garden and chasing after one or two of them. Even with everyone at Hogwarts he'll be okay at the Burrow. It's almost a second home to him anyway."

Hermione nodded and smiled, determined to try and not worry about the cat again. _What use is worrying? _she thought _I can't do anything about it, here. And Ginny's right, he'll be fine at the Burrow._ If there was one cat who could survive and tough it out, it was Crookshanks. She looked at the clock and saw it was approaching six o'clock. "Are you ready for some dinner?"

Raising a comical eyebrow, which made Hermione laugh, Ginny said, "I'm _always_ ready for dinner! Although I have to admit the headache earlier made me feel sick, but now it's gone I feel okay to eat something."

They brushed themselves down, made their hair tidy and went downstairs to see what The Leaky Cauldron had on offer for dinner.


	47. It's Obvious, Isn't It?

**A/N: Having a few laptop issues, so I thought I'd update before it dies on me. If I have to get a repair it might be a little longer until the next update...unless I can get my really old PC out of retirement to work for me. :)**

**People who know who I am will be laughing their heads off about Chapter 46, that I managed to include Boudica in my Potter fanfiction. Something of a local heroine of mine since I was a kid and fell in love with history. **

**There is an interesting legend that makes Boudica and the world of Harry Potter quite close. One of the legends(not one I personally believe) claims that Boudica's final resting place is under platform 9-ish at King's Cross station. Maybe Platform 9 and 3/4 is over her grave? :D**

47: It's Obvious, Isn't It?

Ginny and Hermione had enjoyed their dinner and had then spent time reading and talking in their room, with Hermione telling Ginny more of the history behind Anne Boleyn's story and Boudica's too.

Some of their talking they did whilst lying on the bed, both feeling comfortable and more relaxed than earlier. Of course this inevitably resulted in more kissing and roaming caressing hands.

With Ginny's head laid on her chest, Hermione found herself running her fingers through the red hair before her. "You could be a modern day Boudica."

"How do you figure that one?" answered Ginny with a little snort. "I haven't burned down a town and a temple full of Romans in Colchester lately? Nor burned London or St. Albans to the ground...at least, I don't think I have."

"She was said to have had red hair, and she was a fierce warrior, fighitng for what she believed to be right, to protect her people and way of life."

"I'm hardly a fierce warrior, am I?"

"Oh, but you are," said Hermione. "I wouldn't want to face you in battle. I remember watching you in the DA meetings and admiring your surprise attacks and use of spells. And you certainly fight for what you believe in, and fiercely too."

Ginny moved so she could look at Hermione. "You make me sound like...like I'm a champion duel queen!" she laughed. "I don't think so."

"We've spoken of it before, but, you don't realize how talented you are, do you?" said Hermione, reaching for her hand.

"Er...no. At quidditch, maybe...but anything else, no," said Ginny, feeling a bit embarrassed. "I mean, I know I'm far from being thick...but I'm not exactly the Chosen One!"

"You _are_ talented, though," said Hermione. "As I said once before, Dumbledore told me the very same thing about you."

"Hmm..."

"Every day we've been here, you've proved it to me, more and more," said Hermione, but realizing Ginny was looking a bit uncomfortable, she continued. "I know you don't believe it, and you think people are just flattering you, but you have to know...,"

Hermione didn't get to finish her sentence as Ginny pressed a finger to the brunette's lips, quieting her. "Hermione, just shut up and kiss me." Hermione grinned and duly obliged.

After another session of heated kisses, they both took turns in the bathroom to get ready for bed. Settling into bed, close together, they both drifted off to sleep, knowing the next day would bring another challenge again.

Ginny entered a dream..._zzzzzzz_

She was walking down a dull, dark hallway, and as she reached some stairs and saw some gruesome house-elf heads in jars, she knew she was at Grimmauld Place. _Why am I here?_ she thought.

Going down to the kitchen, she found her parents there; her dad was reading a newspaper and her mother was polishing items of silver with flicks of her wand.

"Ginny, dear, were you looking for someone?" asked her mother.

"No, I don't think so. I was just having a wander around." she answered.

"Well, maybe you could wander up to your room and take that clean laundry with you," said her mum, pointing to a pile of clothes at the other end of the kitchen table.

"All right, Mum," Ginny said, as she pulled her wand out to levitate the clothes.

"No, dear, use your hands. Don't be lazy."

_Hmm, so is that why you're using magic to polish the silver, Mum?_ she thought wryly. But she picked up the clothes and walked up the flights of stairs to the bedroom she shared with Hermione. Not having the ability to use her hands much, she sort of bundled her way through the doorway, nearly tripping up on the rug just inside the door.

"Merlin's pants!" exclaimed Hermione, jumping up in surprise from the table she had been sitting at.

"Only me," said Ginny, smiling. "The laundry maid is just delivering our clean clothes."

Hermione smirked and walked to the door, closing it behind them, muttering a locking spell as she did so. Both the dream-Ginny and the real one observing it, felt her heart quicken. _Something kinky's going on,_ she thought to herself in a sing-song tone.

Ginny dumped the pile of laundry onto one of the beds before standing again, and looking towards Hermione. The brunette hardly gave her time for her eyes to focus on her, before throwing her arms around her and kissing her thoroughly, leaving her lips and body tingling and breathless.

"I rather like the laundry maid here," said Hermione with a crooked smile. "She's sexy and very obliging."

"Obliging?"

"Oh yes," said a still smirking Herimone, as she ran a hand down Ginny's front and snuck it under the hem of her shirt and moved her hand up, stopping to slide Ginny's bra upwards to free a breast. "The laundry maid always lets me do this."

_Oo-weeeeeeeee!_ thought Ginny, feeling Hermione's hand touching her and positive her nipples would have hardened in her sleep on her real body. Her dream-self shuddered. "Lucky laundry maid," she said breathily.

Hermione laughed and worked her other hand up and under Ginny's shirt to free the other breast from the confines of the bra, leaning in to join lips with her again, her tongue dancing with her own, setting her on fire.

"Mum says it's lazy to use a wand all the time," Ginny said, as she broke off. "But I don't care." She drew out her wand, flicked it to remove her shirt and bra, leaving her completely in Hermione's gaze and hands.

_I'm liking this dream!_ Ginny thought. Just as she was thinking that, and hoping for some more dream action, they heard footsteps on the stairs.

"Ginny, are you up here?" called the unmistakable voice of Ron.

"Shit!"

"Don't panic," whispered Hermione, as she drew her own wand and had Ginny back in her bra and shirt in a fraction of a second, before going to open the door.

"What do you want, Ron?" called Ginny, trying to look innocent.

"Just to let you know, the others have arrived," said Ron, as he walked inside their doorway.

"Others?" asked Ginny.

"You know, the Order and DA...Fred, George, Tonks, Lupin, Harry, Neville, even Luna's turned up," he said, while looking at Hermione and smiling.

Ginny didn't like Ron smiling at Hermione. _Oh for Merlin's sake, he's only smiling, he's not doing anything else with her,_ she thought, bewildered at herself.

The dream blurred and Ginny was walking around the house again. For some reason she was on the top floor and was about to enter the room with 'Sirius' on a sign on the door. She turned the door knob. _Why am I going in here?_ she thought. She pushed against the door and walked in, to be faced by Harry...and he wasn't alone.

Harry was on the bed and Luna was sprawled across him, they were kissing and Harry had his hand up Luna's sweater.

"What the fuck?" Ginny couldn't stop herself from saying. _Exactly,_ she thought, _what the fuck _is_ going on?_

The kissing couple broke apart, Harry mildly blushed and whipped his hand out of Luna's sweater as if he had touched scolding hot water, and looked up at the person intruding on their private trist.

"Ginny?" said Harry. "What are you doing here?"

"What are _you_ doing here?" she asked.

"It's obvious, isn't it?" said Luna, with her usual lack of self awareness. "Harry is kissing me and seeing if he can arouse me enough to get my nipples hard. I must say, it worked."

"Luna!" Harry groaned, wearing an expression that said he wanted the ground to open up and swallow him.

"Since when have you been..._doing_ things with Luna?" asked Ginny.

"Not really your business, is it?" said Harry, defensively.

"I think it is, considering the last time I saw you, I was still your girlfriend?" said Ginny.

"You're not now, are you?" he said, simply stating a fact.

"I'm not?" she questioned. _No, I'm not,_ she thought, _Harry's dead and I'm with Hermione. A woman. A woman who makes me feel things even Harry never did. A woman who takes my breath away, literally. _

"No, you're not with me, anymore," said Harry. "So I'm a free agent."

"I thought you were with Neville?" Ginny asked Luna.

"I was," the blonde girl answered. "But once you've tried something and it doesn't quite work, you have to try something else. He's still a good friend."

Ginny could feel her blood run cold, as she looked upon Luna, still sprawled over Harry's lap. _If this was real, _she thought, _would I be fighting to win Harry back? Would I go over and slap Luna's grin off her face? _She kept her gaze upon the couple and the longer she looked, the less shocked she became. _Hermione, a woman who takes my breath away, who makes me feel so alive, who cares for me so deeply I can feel her even when we're apart. Would I leave her to fight to get Harry back? Would I..._

"Do you want a threesome, Ginny?" asked Luna, suddenly.

"Luna!" groaned Harry, blushing a deeper red, and not able to look at Ginny.

"I was only asking, because she didn't seem to have anything else to do," said Luna, as simply as if she were discussing gnomes and not kinky sex.

"No thanks," said Ginny, wanting to laugh out loud at the absurdity of it all. _It's impossible not to love Luna,_ she thought, highly amused and with no thoughts of violence towards her blonde friend now. "I'll leave you to it," she said in a vague way and turned and left, closing the door behind her..._zzzzzzz_

Ginny opened her eyes and found herself grinning, and as soon as she thought of the dream, she wanted to laugh, and stopped herself, because she could hear Hermione's slow, steady breaths of sleep and didn't want to go back to the habit of waking her.

_At least that dream was mostly fun,_ she thought, _it was almost enjoyable. Completely barmy and a little confusing, but all right._

Moving her head slightly she could see Hermione was fast asleep, and looked extremely peaceful. As she looked at the brunette, enjoying watching her in this way, her conscience began to converse with her.

_**Would you leave her, to go back to Harry? Really? **_her conscience suggested. _Well, Harry's dead ,isn't he, so the question is irrelevant. _

_**Hypothetically, would you leave her to go back to Harry, or Dean or someone? **_She felt herself smile as she stared at Hermione's soft lips and her eyelids lightly flickering as she slept. _No, I couldn't leave her. _

_**Would you fight to get her back from Ron? **__Yes! _she thought, not totally surprised by her certainty. _I love her. _

_**You do? **__Did I think that? I love her? I love Hermione? _

_**That's what you're saying, well, thinking. **__It's so soon, how can I know what I feel? Everything is a mess...how can I know? _

_**You were very accepting of Harry being with Luna...you accepted it very fast that he was with someone else.**__ That's a dream. _

_**Even so, you didn't feel bothered for long. **__I didn't, did I? Do I love Hermione? _

_**Why not? Love isn't a thing that can be defined and regulated, it just happens! **_

Ginny stared at the young woman next to her again, watching the rise and fall of the quilt as Hermione's diaphragm rose and fell with each relaxed breath. "I love you," Ginny whispered, more mouthing the words than having any volume. After she had uttered the words, however quietly, she felt her chest tighten, and experienced a feeling like she had a batch of fizzing sherbet released in her stomach, the sensations rising to her heart and lungs. "I love you," she whispered again, and felt a tear fall from her eye. _Bollocks! _she thought, _it's real!_

Settling back down, and lying closer to Hermione again, wanting to smile once more, her conscience wouldn't let her sleep just yet.

_**Are you going to tell her? **__I don't know, it's such a big thing, and we've hardly begun this relationship, or whatever it is we have..and she might not believe it, because of how soon it's been to Harry dying... _

_**Love just happens. **__That maybe so, but we have so much going on here, with our task, I can't make it more complicated by pushing my feelings at her. _

_**Scared? **__Of course I bloody am! _

_**She might feel the same? **__True, maybe, maybe not, but it's still too early to get into all of that. It just seems so mixed up with the whole Harry factor. _

_**You can't change how you feel. **__Again, true, but it's not the right time yet. I'm happy with what we have, I trust her and she trusts me. _

_**You want her. **__All right, I do, but I'm not going to force anything. _

_**Let it happen, eh? **__Essentially, yes...hoping I work out other stuff before then. Now shut up and sleep!_

Hermione stirred a little, but didn't wake up. With a contented sigh, Ginny closed her eyes, and found restful, dreamless sleep.

XXXXXXXXXX

The next day found them in Diagon Alley again, having decided to have a light lunch at the cafe they had frequented in the couple of days since they had started the task. Neither Ginny nor Hermione felt as nervous today as they had yesterday. There was a natural apprehension, but both of them were feeling more ready for their next visit to Borgin & Burkes.

Hermione had made a few subtle changes to their dresses, so it looked like they were wearing something different, but in the same style. Both women had got used to their attire and were more comfortable wearing the dresses than they ever were with the WAAF uniforms.

Ginny walked into the creepy shop first, and not seeing anyone at the counter or in the shop front, she and Hermione went to look at a shelf of items they had yet to see.

They were drawn to an ornate dagger, with a ruby in the hilt and gemstones of various colours along the length of the dagger's scabbard. Hermione looked at the blade, and she was sure it looked like silver and she frowned slightly.

"What?" asked Ginny quietly, having seen Hermione frown.

"I think the blade is silver."

"So?"

"Silver is a soft metal. If this was meant to be used it would soon get out of shape, easily scratch and dent. Maybe it's just for show?"

"It does have a use," said a voice behind them.

Hermione spun around, and Ginny turned to find the smiling Borgin standing before them again. "It does?" asked Hermione, genuinely interested.

Borgin briefly looked around his shop to check that they were alone, before answering. "It's very useful in dispatching werewolves."

Avoiding showing any expression other than neutral or interested, Hermione looked straight back at the shop proprieter. "It's been tested, then?"

"Oh yes," said Borgin, looking at both young women, to gauge their reaction and how much he could trust them. "It works too."

Ginny wanted to swallow, but didn't, trying hard to maintain her composure. What wasn't helping was having an image of Lupin in her mind, and thinking of going up to him and plunging the dagger into the man.

Hermione was also having flashback images, but of the night she saw Lupin change, and even though she'd been in grave danger, she couldn't imagine killing him, and certainly not stabbing him with the dagger. _Think of Greyback, not Lupin,_ she forced herself, _think of that brute Greyback mauling Lavender Brown._

"Are you quite well, Miss Parkinson?" asked Borgin.

_Bugger,_ thought Hermione, _I must have stopped hiding my facial expressions. He remembers my name, though. _She quickly recovered. "I'm fine. I was just thinking of a time I came face to face with a werewolf," she said, truthfully. "I would have had nothing to use had it gone for me. Luckily it ran off for other pickings that night, but it might have been handy to have had a dagger like this."

_Well done, Hermione!_ thought Ginny. _A big phew and whew to that!_

"Yes, it _is_ one of the certain ways to kill the dirty buggers," said Borgin, smiling.

_You never did that to a certain Greyback, as I recall,_ thought Hermione. _Maybe because you _had _to accept him._

There was more than one of the daggers on the shelf, but the one with the gemstones was the nicest. Hermione looked at the price tag, it was four hundred galleons. _The gems are probably not even real,_ thought Hermione skeptically, _but the blade is definitely silver._

"Before we look at other things, we'd like you to look at another item we have," said Ginny, stepping in.

"Of course," said Borgin, leading them back to the counter.

Ginny pulled out the dragon egg and placed it on the counter's wooden surface.

"Well, well," said the shop owner. "Hmm, that _is_ a beauty." He handled the egg and inspected it closely. "Do you realize, it's an egg of an Orkney Red?"

"No," said Ginny. "It was another item amongst my old aunt's things. We're not very knowledgable on types of dragon eggs." _My brother Charlie would know,_ she thought, wishing she had his knowledge available to her at that moment.

"They've been extinct for over five hundred years," said Borgin. "At least, no one has seen one in all that time." His eyes appeared to light up with his own knowledge on the egg.

_It _must_ be rare,_ thought Hermione, as she'd watched Borgin carefully. _I wonder if Dumbledore knew that?_ "So, would you like to make us an offer?" she asked.

"I would," he replied. "Yes, I would. There are some who believe that touching an egg in this condition aids certain charms and spells. Gives them more...punch."

_Hmm,_ thought Hermione, _so dark witches and wizards would _really _like it._

"Let's say six hundred galleons," said Borgin, after a few moments of brilliantly acted chin-stroking and almost inaudible huffs of decision.

"Six hundred?" Ginny repeated. "It's worth nine!"

_Here we go again,_ thought Hermione, wanting for all the world to giggle. _Let's see how much Gin can squeeze out of the slimy git this time!_

"Nine?" Borgin almost squeaked. "It's a wartorn country out there, Miss Wade. People would never pay anywhere near that!"

"The muggles are wartorn," said Hermione. "There's no evidence of that in Diagon Alley or anywhere else in the magical world. We may look young and impressionable, Mr. Borgin, but I can assure you we aren't. And we aren't stupid." Ginny wanted to applaud Hermione, but tried to concentrate back on the deal.

"Can't blame a dealer for trying?" said Borgin, spreading his hands apologetically. "Seven-fifty."

"Eight-twenty and it's yours," said Ginny. "I've never seen one of these before, and I don't think you've seen many either. There's always a roaring trade for dragon goods. You could charge twelve-hundred and a lot of customers wouldn't blink an eyelid at that."

"Hmm, it _is_ rare," said Borgin, as he handled the egg again. "Eight-twenty it is."

_He really wanted that egg,_ thought Hermione, _and he'll still make an absolute killing with the sell-on price._

Before Ginny shook hands to end the deal, she placed the jewelled dagger on the counter. "Sell us the dagger for two-hundred and you can have the egg for eight-hundred," she said.

"Two hundred?" Borgin looked at the two women, and again saw the resolve in them and the undeniable hidden power they both had. The dagger had in fact cost him nothing, coming to him in a consignment from a client who owed him money and favours. He could see he wouldn't get very far haggling over the dagger further, and the two women might just turn and leave without it and he would be eight-hundred out of pocket instead of six-hundred. "I'm feeling generous and you've been such good customers...deal," he said, shaking Ginny's hand.

They dealt with the formality of signing the dealer's forms to acquire correct ownership of the items_. If I'm going to try, it will have to be now,_ thought Hermione. "It's been wonderful seeing your shop. And the rumours were only half true. I think you have some of the most rare and interesting items we've ever seen."

_She's starting to fish,_ thought Ginny, preparing herself to enter the fray again. "Absolutely," she joined in. "I don't think anywhere else comes close to matching your shop."

"You're too kind," said Borgin, almost bowing.

"You must have lots of other collectors like us?" asked Hermione. "People who love to own rare items that no one else has?"

"Yes, I have several regulars," he answered.

"Do you keep a list of people to contact when you have certain items come into the shop?" Hermione asked, her heart feeling as though it was in her throat.

"Are you interested in anything in particular?" asked Borgin, immediately seeing a possibility of a new client to flog his slightly dodgy wares to, on a more regular basis.

"Maybe," said Ginny, as an idea on how to approach this came to mind. "We'd actually love to meet with other collectors. I know how difficult it is...," she lowered her voice. "People wouldn't want everyone knowing what they've bought and some items are best kept quiet, but we'd love to meet with other people like us."

_Yes, Ginny, perfect!_ thought Hermione, _you've given me the ideal opening. _"We've been away so long with this muggle war, and we're sad to say a couple of our collector friends were killed," said Hermione, in a deliberately wistful way. "In our line of interests, it's very hard to make new contacts and friends."

"I can imagine," said Borgin, not all that sympathetic.

"Would you have any clients who would like to meet with people like us?" asked Hermione, as innocently as possible.

"I couldn't say," said Borgin. "Client confidentiality."

"Of course," said Ginny. "You can't be too careful, we understand that. We can hardly advertise in the Daily Prophet, though!"

"It's difficult, to be sure," said Borgin. "If you stayed in my shop long enough you might meet some of my clients, but to tell the truth a lot wouldn't even come in when others are here."

_This isn't getting us anywhere,_ thought Hermione, _I'm going to have to be much more direct. _"You've been so helpful with us and a delight to deal with. It's so nice to know how safe the transactions are at Borgin & Burkes," said Hermione. "We _can _trust you, can't we?"

"Trust me?" Borgin looked taken aback. "Hundreds of happy customers would be proof of the trust you can have in me."

_I trust you about as far as I could throw your greasy body,_ thought Hermione."Perhaps we could come to some arrangement?" she offered.

"Arrangement? For what?" The shop owner eyed both women very carefully.

Hermione was almost stuck for words. _How do I bring it up? How?_ Ginny came to the rescue.

"When we were told to pay your shop a visit," said Ginny in a low, quiet voice, making it more intriguing. "We were told about a client of yours."

"Oh?" he replied.

"We were told to ask after her, because it's said she has one of the finest collections of..._rare_ items in the country," Ginny said with a smile. "We'd dearly love to meet with her, share some collecting and artefact stories."

"And who might this supposed client of mine, be?" asked Borgin, eyeing the women suspiciously.

"What was her name, again?" Ginny asked Hermione, portraying the part of a person more interested in seeing rare items than actually being interested in the person who owned them.

_That's too good, Ginny,_ thought Hermione, immediately understanding what Ginny was doing, _brilliant!_ "Smith...," Hermione said, raising a hand to her head in thought. "Something, Smith."

"There's a lot of those!" laughed Borgin.

"I'll remember it, any second," said Hermione, playing out the same appearance as Ginny. "It was an odd, old name...Hannah? No...Heziah? No!"

"I remember!" said Ginny. "Hepizibah! Hepzibah Smith." She could almost have said she was enjoying this mummers show she and Hermione were putting on for Borgin. Only 'almost', as the sicky feeling in her stomach, and her racing heart kept her very much grounded.

"Do you know her?" asked Hermione, noticing that Borgin's face flickered slightly at the mention of the name.

"I couldn't say," answered Borgin.

"The person who recommended this shop said Hepzibah had told them she was indebted to you for being able to own so many unique items," Hermione said. "Before you ask, I really can't tell you who recommended you to us..." Then lowering her voice. "If it got out that _they_ owned certain things themselves, all hell would break loose and we wouldn't feel so safe...if you get my meaning?"

"That as it maybe, I can't give you a client's details," said Borgin.

"We don't mean her any harm," said Hermione. "So don't worry, your client won't suddenly go missing and stop buying from you." She gave a little conspiratorial laugh, but Borgin still shook his head.

"We're avid collectors of all manner of things," said Ginny. "Wherever we are in the country or even when we're overseas, we try to get in contact with collectors like us. We simply love looking at rare items, even if we sadly can't own everything ourselves. You could say that where some people are obsessive with quidditch, we're the same with rare and...shall we say, 'different' magical artefacts."

_I want to kiss her, she's so bloody good at this,_ thought Hermione, _I really want to kiss her. CONCENTRATE! _

Hermione looked around the shop and turned to check that there was no one about to enter through the door, before leaning forwards and in a low voice said, "What if we were to say, you could have the egg for nothing?"

Borgin's eyebrows moved upwards a fraction, enough that both women noticed it. _That's got him interested, _thought Ginny, recognizing the signals.

"Didn't our...contact say, that Hepzibah was overjoyed to show her collections to them. She loved showing them off," said Ginny. "Obviously, she knew the person wouldn't talk about them, but collectors in our line know not to talk to just anyone. It's more than our life's worth."

"Well," said Borgin, eyeing the six hundred galleons of gold on the counter, which the two women had yet to place into their bags. "If I do...," he said, deep in thought. "I'd have to contact her first, see that she agrees before I give you her details."

"No problem," said Hermione, feeling a little elated. _I knew the git couldn't resist the money,_ she thought.

"We're staying at The Leaky Cauldron," said Ginny. "Perhaps you could send us a message when you have the answer and we'll drop by again."

"I think we might drop by once more anyway," said Hermione, in a slightly amused voice, hoping Ginny might pick up on the tone.

"Ahhh, I see," said Ginny, giving a little laugh. "Mr. Borgin, I do believe she's spotted something else she wants to add to our collection!"

_We're like a double-act,_ thought Hermione, _she knew what I was thinking straight away! This way he might try just a little harder, if he thinks we'll buy some more of his old tat!_

"All right," said Borgin. "I'll send an owl, see if she'll see you. I won't push her, if she doesn't want to."

"No, we don't want to force ourselves onto her," said Hermione, apologetically. "But let her know we'd love to show her some of our items, especially what we've bought from you in the last couple of days." She saw a flicker of thought flash across Borgin's face, and knew he was thinking of Hepzibah getting the spending bug again and that she might well buy some more things from him, at his extortinate prices, very soon.

"I'll try for you," said Borgin, sincerely.

"Thank you," said Ginny. "We really appreciate it." She couldn't help but feel an inner wince at leaving so much gold on the counter, though.

"Yes, thank you," said Hermione. "We'll be...," She was cut off as the shop door opened.

Borgin looked over their heads to the door, and waved to whomsoever had walked in. "I'll be with you in a minute Horace!"

"No hurry my dear fellow, all the time in the world," said the familiar voice of Horace Slughorn.

**A/N: As far as I know an "Orkney Red" is a dragon from my own imagination...unless I read it somewhere else and it was in my subconscious; so apologies if someone else thought of it first. However, a few years ago I did a sketch of a dragon sitting in the middle of a real stone circle on the Orkney Isles and although in pencil, I always thought of the dragon as red. I really ought to paint that properly one day!**


	48. A Bit of a Surprise

**A/N: It seems threatening and swearing at a laptop does wonders! That and a System Restore. :)**

**On with the show... **

48: A Bit of a Surprise

Hermione quickly made sure she kept facing forwards toward Borgin and she saw Ginny look at her and looking to the side she flicked her eyes, hoping Ginny knew to keep her face from Slughorn too. _He'd better not see our faces,_ she thought, _because if he does it could be so dangerous. It would mean he already knows our faces, when we first meet him for Potions, fifty-odd years later._

"Everything all right, ladies?" Borgin asked, thankfully in a quiet voice.

"Er...," Hermione leaned over the counter and whispered. "We...we'd rather not be seen, and not by your...by that particular customer." _I hope he doesn't think that's odd, as we've just been asking about meeting other clients, _she thought._ Hopefully he'll think it's just Slughorn we don't want to see._

"I understand," said Borgin. "I have a door out the back of the shop."

"That will look even more odd," said Hermione. "If you don't mind, we'll just perform a quick glamour?"

"Go ahead," said Borgin, in a casual way, which suggested he was used to customers taking this type of action.

Hermione discreetly drew her wand from her sleeve and gave a flick at Ginny, then at herself. They kept their height and hair colour so Slughorn wouldn't be able to detect anything from behind, but facially most people would have trouble recognizing them.

"Is it done?" asked Ginny, in a whisper.

"Yes. How about me?" asked Hermione. Ginny nodded.

Both women were grateful that Slughorn had kept his distance from the counter, allowing them the privacy which aided their small transformation.

"Thank you," said Hermione in a normal voice to the shop owner. "We hope to hear from you soon about...the matter we discussed."

"I'll let you know as soon as I get a reply," said Borgin. "Hope to see you here again soon, ladies?"

"We hope to visit again," said Ginny, as both young women turned to leave. "Bye."

Turning to go towards the door, Hermione felt her heart beat faster when she was faced with Horace Slughorn, looking quite a bit younger than when he had taught her Potions in her Sixth Year. Slughorn wasn't alone, he had a tall, dark-haired young man with him. As Ginny turned and faced the Professor her breath caught in her throat as her eyes fell on the youth standing next to him. She quickly coughed to cover up her surprise.

"Are you okay?" Hermione asked.

"Yes, fine...just a dry throat," Ginny said. _How can Hermione be so calm when she's facing Voldemort, or his younger Tom Riddle self?_ she thought.

Slughorn eyed the two women and his face broke into a grin. "Hello ladies. What a pleasant surprise. Normally Borgin & Burkes is such a dark place but you've certainly brightened it up."

_Please don't say Slughorn is trying to flirt with us?_ Hermione thought, groaning inside her head. _That would be beyond gross and disturbing!_

"Hello," said Hermione, simply. Ginny could only force a smile and politely inclined her head.

"Enjoying the delights Borgin & Burkes have to offer?" said Slughorn jovially.

"Yes, very much so," said Hermione, still trying to edge towards the door.

Slughorn nudged an elbow into his companion. "You see Tom m'boy, no need to worry about being shut away from the world working here. Even in this line of work you can see some nice fillies."

"It would seem so, sir," said Tom Riddle as he eyed the two women.

Ginny felt as though Riddle could see through the spell hiding her true facial features. She felt fear grip her, and strangle her very soul. All the events of her First Year at Hogwarts flashed forwards into her mind...this was the Riddle she had known from the Diary, the Riddle who had made her do things, horrible things, and then tried to sap the life from her. _Maybe the reason Hermione hasn't tensed up yet is because she's never seen him like this?_ she thought.

However much Hermione had been oblivious to the situation in front of her, when Slughorn had mentioned the young man's first name, she'd become aware of _exactly_ who he was. She wanted to run...no she wanted to pull out her wand and strike him down...but the stubborn, logical part of her took over and asked a very reasonable question instead.

"Are you going to be working here, then?" she asked Riddle. Hermione was aware of Ginny turning slightly to look at her. _I'm just as surprised as you, that I'm standing here passing the time with Voldemort,_ she thought, _what _am _I doing?_

"Possibly. It's one of a few options when I leave school, this summer," Tom answered, then he smiled a most charming smile. "You might become my clients in the near future."

"You never know," Hermione cheerfully answered. "Anyway, we must be going."

"Good day ladies," said Slughorn, as he opened the door for them and rested a subtle light hand on each of their shoulders as they passed him through the door. "I do hope we get to meet again."

Hermione and Ginny made sure to walk at a normal pace again, and not look over their shoulders or back at the shop in any way. Once back to the brighter, safer-looking Diagon Alley, they immediately felt their tense postures slumping.

"Let's get back to our room," said Ginny, feeling her hands shake and desperately wanting to go somewhere she could shut herself off from the world they were in.

Noticing Ginny looking uncomfortable, and feeling similar herself, Hermione linked her arm through her friend's and they made their way to The Leaky Cauldron. They only stopped once they reached the yard at the back of the pub, where Hermione lifted the glamour she had used on them both, not wanting to confuse a different Tom; their landlord.

As soon as they reached their room and had closed and locked the door, it was like they both felt they could breathe again.

"Bloody hell!" Ginny exclaimed, thumping down hard to sit on the bed and kicking off her shoes almost violently. "Bloody fucking hell!"

"A bit of a surprise, wasn't it?" said Hermione, as she too flopped down onto the bed.

"A bit?" Ginny said, her voice still a little high with tension. "You didn't recognize him at first, did you?"

"No," admitted Hermione. "But when Slughorn said his first name, I just knew."

"I knew straight away," said Ginny. "He looks exactly as he did...when I...that whole business with the Diary." She ran a hand through her hair and found her hand and arm still shaking.

"I didn't think about that," said Hermione. "Merlin's balls, that must have been terrible coming face to face with him."

"He was looking through me, like he could see through the spell...it...he, made me feel dirty," Ginny shuddered. "And to think the evil git nearly had you back at Little Hangleton. Urgh...he makes me feel...urghhh!" was all Ginny could say as she hugged herself, arms folded in front of her, rubbing her upper arms, as if she could feel her skin crawling or was suddenly cold.

Hermione could see Ginny was almost in a state of shock, her face as white as a sheet, understandably so, and went to her and wrapped her arms around her, hugging her tight. "We're both all right," she said, as she rubbed gentle circles on the redhead's back. "We faced him and we're okay. We're better than him. And you have a hundred times the courage he'll ever have."

Ginny hugged Hermione back, her hands and arms still shaking, but she enjoyed feeling so close to the brunette and immediately began to breathe slower and feel more calm. After a few moments she said, "You were amazing. How the hell did you manage to talk with him?"

"I'm not sure myself," answered Hermione with a nervous laugh. "Believe me, most of me was telling me to get out of the shop or kill him, but for some reason I decided to talk to him! I have no idea why I did that?"

Emitting a little laugh herself, Ginny pulled back from the embrace, and looked into Hermione's eyes, brushing some of her brown, bushy hair away from her face. Still holding the brunette's gaze she said, "I don't know about me, but you definitely have a hundred times more courage than that scumbag will ever have."

With a smile Ginny traced Hermione's lips with the tip of her thumb, and gave a breathy chuckle when her thumb was gently kissed. It was like a bolt of energy had gone through her thumb, up her arm and straight to her heart. Holding Hermione's face gently with both hands, their eyes meeting, unblinking and unflinching, she leaned in and kissed her.

It was a powerful kiss, heightened by the shock and fear they had both experienced that afternoon, topped with relief of having dealt with the bizarre and frightening circumstances as well as they had. The kiss was deep and passionate, both with physical and mental feeling. When their lips and tongues finally parted, Ginny continued to place kisses to the soft skin of Hermione's cheeks, her chin and down the side of her neck, lightly licking and sucking the flesh around the hollow of the woman's collarbone. She felt she wanted more and made her way down, gradually, to the swell of Hermione's breasts, the top third visible and pushed up by the dress she wore.

Ginny slid her hands up to cup the underside of Hermione's breasts through her dress, as she placed soft, gentle kisses to the bare skin above; with lots of little kisses, she was trying to leave no bare part left unkissed.

Hermione was greatly enjoying the sensations she was feeling, she wrapped her arms around Ginny, holding her head lightly to her chest, placing a couple of kisses to the top of her head. She couldn't hold in a couple of little moans, which then made her give a funny laugh too.

Gradually, Ginny made her way back up to Hermione's lips. "I got a little lost and carried away," she said, knowing she was probably blushing from embarrassment as well as with passion.

"I don't mind," said Hermione. "I don't mind at all." She placed a kiss onto Ginny's lips.

"I'm...I'm..," Ginny began, but looked away. She was frustrated, she was feeling bashful and couldn't express herself. _I need to tell her. Tell her my stupid inexperienced wonderings and nervousness, _she thought, making up her mind,

"You're...?" prompted Hermione, then she saw Ginny's face; a picture of thought, frustration and maybe something else. "What's wrong?"

"I'm...I'm not sure what I'm doing," said Ginny, her face turning a deeper shade of red.

"Do you mean here, in general, with the task?" Hermione saw Ginny shake her head. "Talk to me. You can tell me anything, you know that."

"When I'm with you," said Ginny. "I'm not sure what I'm doing...I know how to kiss, of course I do...but I don't think I'd know if I want to do more, what's beyond...beyond what I've just done... Urgh! I'm saying this all wrong! I've...I've read things, of course...about two women too, but I...I'm not sure about any of it. I just assumed I'd...you'd...bollocks, I can't even say what I mean."

Hermione held Ginny's hands in hers. "Go on," she said in a soft voice. _Have I made her feel she _has _to do more? _she thought, concerned. _Please don't say she's having doubts about it all and about us?_

"I...I just assumed that I'd do what I think I'd like myself, but then I'm not sure and I'm probably doing it all wrong or...," she tailed off again and looked down.

_Oh god, she wants to go further...but isn't sure about what happens, or what's right, _thought Hermione, in the silence that emanated. _This is very wrong to think, but, she's just made herself even cuter. I want to look after her, to...to love her. Not that I'm an expert on womanly love either! Hold your horses! It's early days...but it's amazing and I feel so in love with her. _

Placing a hand under the redhead's chin, Hermione made Ginny raise her gaze back to her. "I've never been intimate with a girl before we got together. And as you know, I haven't done all that much with the male of the species either," she said with a smile. "I'm not sure even books can be a real help...for once! I think it's just instinct, what we'd like each other to feel...and yes, if it's something you think you'd like then I probably will too. After all, we have the same equipment!" That made Ginny give a laugh. "Every kiss and touch so far has been my instinct for you, and it's felt so right. I truly believe when the time comes for...for something else...it will just happen, we'll know."

Silence ensued for another few moments, before Hermione spoke again, blushing herself. "What made you...made you kiss me before and...you know, kiss my neck and chest? And when it's happened before as well, when you've touched me?"

"I don't know," said Ginny, then she gave a half smile. "_Instinct_, I suppose. It just seemed the thing I wanted to do..."

"There's your answer, then. As long as we always tell the other if we _don't_ want something or like something, we can't go far wrong."

"I sound like such a stupid young idiot," said Ginny, suddenly, almost feeling ashamed. "And it's not like today was the first time we kissed or the first time I kissed...kissed you there," she said, nodding towards Hermione's chest. "I just know I want more...a feeling I have which is getting stronger...but I don't exactly know what's right or...oh bugger it, I'm sounding so ridiculous."

"You're not seventeen yet," replied Hermione. "I'm eighteen, so I would say that makes us both young. Do you trust me?"

"Absolutely, you know I do."

"I trust you. Again, I'll say it, we can't go far wrong with each other. And I hope...," Hermione stopped and gave a half-smile, looking embarrassed.

"You hope...?" asked Ginny, wondering what Hermione wasn't saying. _She's not saying she wants to do _it, _now, is she? _she thought, worried. _I need to get my head around it...I can't..._

"I hope you'll always kiss me, wherever your instincts direct you."

For a moment Ginny looked into Hermione's eyes, and it was quickly followed by laughter as they hugged each other. _I've got to learn to stop worrying! How could I have been worried to talk about it with her? _Ginny thought, relieved. _She understands, she's never going to pressure me and deep down I knew she wouldn't make fun of me. It actually feels liberating!_

"Trying to forget the whole You Know Who meeting...," said Ginny. "...meeting Slughorn could have been tricky. I knew you were worried about it?"

Hermione pulled back from their hug. "It could have been a disaster, if he saw us. Although he appears sozzled from booze half the time, there was a risk that he might have remembered us when we meet him at Hogwarts in our own time."

"That's what I thought," said Ginny. "I was thinking about Dumbledore and what he said about never wanting us to go to Hogwarts here, because of the dangers. I assume it's because of being recognized by teachers or students or even students who became parents or grandparents of the students we knew?"

"Yes. And as for You Know Who, that could have been even worse...fatal in fact," said Hermione. "He would know our faces as soon as he saw us in our own time, or one of his cronies saw us and he used Legilimency to see what they had seen. Thankfully, even if You Know Who had a look at Massey's memories he can't make the connection with what he saw today. The danger would have been to the 'us' in our early Hogwarts days, we wouldn't know that we'd been here and that we would be in dreadful danger then...if you see what I mean? He might think we look a lot like the two women from Little Hangleton, but he'll think it was an older family member instead, and the names won't mean anything."

"It's all so mind boggling!" said Ginny. "Now I feel even more paranoid than I did before. What on earth was Slughorn doing with You Know Who at Borgin & Burkes _today_?"

"We won't know for sure," said Hermione. "But, if I had to take a guess I would say our friendly Professor is a regular customer at the shop and I'm wondering if he helped You Know Who get his job there. So, perhaps he was making initial inquiries."

"That would make sense," said Ginny, thinking it through. "It's a Saturday too; no school to miss. From what Harry said about Slughorn, I reckon he sells more things there, than buys."

"I would agree with you there," said Hermione. "You noticed he was almost flirting with us?"

"Unfortunately I did notice, despite other things," said Ginny. "It was creepy...just...urgh!" She stuck her tongue out in disgust.

"Just a moment!" said Hermione, having thought on something. "Did you notice You Know Who wearing a ring?"

"You mean _the _Ring? No I didn't think about it or look at Him much. I was trying to avoid looking at the bastard."

"Yes, the Ring...the fake one we swapped. He would have it by now. I wish I could have thought of it at the time and tried to look."

"Well, I'm not going back to find out!" said Ginny.

Hermione gave a little laugh. "No, of course not. It just would have been interesting to have seen our work come into play."

"It might have made us act oddly if we'd spotted it, though?" suggested Ginny.

"That's true, maybe it wasn't so bad that we didn't think to look at his hands. I'm so glad we chose new names for here," said Hermione. "If we'd used our real names it would pose trouble back in our own time, but if we'd used the names from 1943 it could be equally problematic, because...,"

"Because it's likely Massey mentioned or was _made_ to tell You Know Who the names of the girls involved with the incident at Little Hangleton."

"Precisely. And I'm not certain whether Borgin would have kept our identities secret, especially as he and Slughorn seem so friendly. _Whew_," Hermione expelled a deep breath.

"Dumbledore said there might be people here that could cause us trouble," said Ginny. "But I thought he meant people coming after us across the timeline. I'm not worried about that now, but much more worried about the people we're bumping into here."

"I know," sighed Hermione. "Today has really reminded us of the dangers again. What we dealt with today was huge! And that's not including the work we did to get close to having Hepzibah's address."

"Hermione...isn't it dangerous that Tom, the landlord here, knows our faces? It's only just occurred to me, but he'll recognize us back in the 1990s...surely?"

"I had a thought about that when Dumbledore suggested we stay here," said Hermione. "Then I really thought about it. _Dumbledore _said we could stay here. I'm not saying Tom knows what we're doing, but I wouldn't mind betting that he and Dumbledore have an arrangement. Plus pub landlords know how to keep people's confidences...the good ones do anyway."

"Hmm, so much to think about! I suppose on the bright side," Ginny said, letting out a deep breath. "With regards to our task here, we still have time before You Know Who has a chance to look at Borgin & Burkes' client list. He can't start work until the summer at the earliest."

"I just hope we have good news from Borgin."

"I hope this Hepzibah woman is pliable to his request, or all of this crap we've been doing the past couple of days will be for nothing," said Ginny, anger bubbling within her. "Facing that...that evil git, being made to relive what that bastard did, what he made me do...would be for nothing!"

Hermione put a hand to Ginny's face and cupped her cheek. "Hey, it hasn't been for nothing. And remember, Dumbledore said this was for 'insurance', so he knows it's possible we may not get the Cup. I know he said it might be needed anyway, but I'm sure he has another back-up if we can't see that woman and swap the Cup."

Leaning forward, Hermione pressed her lips to Ginny's and they shared a gentle kiss. "I don't think I'll ever tire of that," she said, briefly kissing Ginny again to emphasize what she meant. "Let's change what we're wearing, freshen up, then get an early dinner."

Ginny nodded, and with the expert swish of both of their wands, they changed their attire to make it look like they were wearing completely different clothes. Rather than gothic dresses, they were wearing dark long skirts and separate shirts now, in an old style still. At this point they were both experts in transfiguring clothes.

XXXXXXXXXX

Having enjoyed a nice dinner downstairs at The Leaky Cauldron, all washed down with a butterbeer, both Hermione and Ginny finally felt as though they had got over their shock of dealing with Slughorn and Riddle.

"Are you feeling better?" asked Hermione.

"Yes, a lot better," answered Ginny.

"You look better. You went so pale when we first got back here, I actually thought you were going to pass out."

"No, I don't think I'd have gone that far, but I was certainly rattled. How are you?"

"Better as well," said Hermione. "Although I didn't have to deal with as much as you had to upon seeing..._Him_."

"Are you up for some more cards this evening?" Ginny asked, as she finished her butterbeer.

"Sounds good to me."

"We ought to play for money," said Ginny. "Well, sort of. We could use our stash, and see who ends up with the most at the end. Neither of us would really lose...just for fun."

Hermione gave a little laugh. "That does sound like fun."

Ginny stood up and slid her chair under the table, Hermione copying her, before they made their way up the stairs to their room. Once inside they got a pack of cards from Hermione's beaded bag, kicked off their shoes and made to sit opposite each other on the bed. As they were about to tip out some of the galleons from one of their purses there was a knock on the door.

"Ladies? It's only me, Tom," called the familiar voice of the landlord.

Hermione went to the door and opened it. "Hello."

"We just had this letter arrive for you by owl," said Tom, handing over an envelope. "Enjoy your evening."

"Thanks," said Hermione. _Is this it? _she thought, _please say it is! _Closing the door behind her, she walked back to the bed, staring at the envelope in her hand.

Ginny had been watching her every move, feeling the bubbling of anticipation begin within herself. _Will it be success or disappointment?_ thought Ginny, _that's if it _is_ from Borgin and not a surprise from Dumbledore?_

Hermione sat opposite Ginny on the bed, and looked at the redhead. "Well, I suppose there's only one way to find out?" she said, as she lifted the seal on the letter, taking a deep breath.

Ginny shuffled over to sit by Hermione's side to read the note at the same time. Unfolding the letter, they were faced with a sprawling, spidery script:

_Dear Miss Parkinson & Miss Wade,_

_I've had a reply from the lady we spoke of. She's accommodating to your request, providing certain requirements are met, which we'll have to discuss when I see you next. Although the shop will be shut tomorrow, I'll be there, so if you're still interested in making the lady's acquaintance, come to the shop tomorrow and knock on the door. _

_I look forward to meeting with you again._

_Yours Humbly_

_Borgin_

"'Yours Humbly'?" said Ginny. "That bloke wouldn't know how to be humble even if he overdosed on humble pie!"

"The main thing is, we're closer to meeting with Hepzibah," said Hermione.

"I wonder what these 'requirements' are?" asked Ginny, getting back to the important point at hand.

"I suspect it will involve either money, or us telling some more porkies to satisfy his curiosity!" said Hermione, not altogether happy with the unknown 'requirements' either.

"So, do we drop by on him tomorrow?"

"If you feel up to it?" asked Hermione, softly.

"Yes, I'll be fine. After what we went through today, I feel we need to see this through," said Ginny. "Unless of course the requirements are completely beyond us."

"Okay, we'll pay him a visit tomorrow morning."

"That's settled, then," said Ginny. "Now, let me thrash you at cards!"

"In your dreams!" laughed Hermione. "What will the winner get?"

"A nice warm feeling in their tummy for being so cunning to beat the other," said Ginny with a laugh. "We don't have any trophies in your bag."

They gave each other a hundred galleons as their kitty, and played one or two cardgames. A couple of wizarding games, followed by some muggle poker.

After a couple of hours of playing, both of them had won a few games each. They both felt very relaxed and were enjoying each other's company, and although it was in the back of their minds, they didn't feel troubled by the things they needed to do next in their task.

Ginny had frequently looked over the top of her cards at Hermione. _She's so beautiful when she smiles,_ she thought, _she's beautiful whatever expression she's wearing. I feel so comfortable with her. I can be me, I don't have to put on any act with her. _A thought entered her mind as she studied Hermione discreetly, looking at the curve of her soft lips and the twinkle of concentration in her lovely eyes, and she chose not to ignore it.

The next few games Ginny didn't win one game, she was down to her last two galleons, and yet she was still very happy. "Would you look at that?" she said in theatrical shock. "You're bankrupting me!"

"You _have_ been a bit reckless in the last few games, Gin," said Hermione, grinning. "You're playing some risky strategies."

"Well, I'll have to use my last two galleons for this hand," Ginny said, placing the last of her gold between them on the bed. "Come on, let's see your hand...let's see if your streak has ended?" Ginny knew before Hermione turned over her cards, that she had lost.

"I win!" said Hermione, with a touch of girlie glee, upon seeing her hand beating Ginny's.

"Bugger!" said Ginny. "I've lost! Completely! Oh well." She flicked her wand and had the gold back in the purses and the cards neatly back in their pack and placed on the table in the room.

"You're so mortified at losing, you won't let me look at my winnings for longer than a minute?" said Hermione, amused.

"Something like that," said Ginny. "You beat me so soundly, I think you should get a winner's prize."

"You do? What?"

Ginny gave a little smirk and shuffled over to Hermione, wrapped her arms around her and kissed her. Ginny was sure she was blushing a little, because the kiss was only part one of her plan. _I'm a little nervous, but I think Hermione deserves part two, I _want _her to have part two, _she thought, as she deepened their kiss.

They broke from the kiss a little breathless, but Ginny laid back on the bed, tugging on Hermione's hand to join her. The brunette laid next to her and when she leaned over to kiss Ginny again, her hand rested on the redhead's chest, lightly kneading a breast.

When they broke apart again, Ginny looked into Hermione's eyes and said, "Unbutton my shirt."

Hermione's eyebrows raised slightly, "Really?"

"I wouldn't say it if I didn't mean it," Ginny smiled back at her. "Unless of course the winner doesn't want the prize on offer?"

"Prize?" Hermione narrowed her eyes, and seeing the twitch of a smirk on Ginny's face she soon understood. "You lost on purpose!"

"Did I?" Ginny answered in an exaggerated tone of innocence.

"Yes!" Hermione pointed a finger at her.

Ginny grabbed the finger and held the hand, looking into Hermione's face. "I've seen you...above the waist...so to speak. I just want you to see me...if you get my meaning?"

The look Ginny gave her, made Hermione's heart beat harder and faster, and at the same time she felt a fluttery feeling which she associated with...love. _I know it's love, _she thought. "You don't have to, not yet?" said Hermione. "If you don't really want to...I...,"

Ginny brought Hermione's hand to her lips and kissed it. "I want to," she said. "It's not much really...I just want you to..." She sighed. "Besides, I went to a lot of trouble to play cards that badly!"

Hermione laughed, and then kissed Ginny gently on the lips. "You could have suggested it, without losing at cards?" she said.

"True, but it wouldn't have been as much fun. I'm getting good at making plans, now," said Ginny, with a smile, not feeling as nervous as she thought she would at the prospect of Hermione seeing her bare above the waist.


	49. Assurance

**A/N: I couldn't leave you on that cliffhanger for too long. :D **

49: Assurance

Ginny moved so she was nearly sitting up against the headboard of the bed as Hermione gave her a slow, gentle kiss, feeling a little nervous herself at the prospect of unbuttoning Ginny's shirt. Hermione's hands lightly rested on the redhead's chest, then breaking from their kiss, she raised herself up a little and undid the first button on the shirt.

There were eight buttons, spaced out and Hermione was aware of Ginny's breathing becoming shallower, the rise and fall of her chest a bit more exaggerated than normal. Ginny was very aware of Hermione's fingers as she unbuttoned her shirt; occasionally a finger would lightly touch bare skin as she worked down to the next button. Those simple touches felt amazing.

After a short time all the buttons on the transfigured shirt, which had once been part of a dress, were undone. Looking at Ginny warmly, Hermione gently opened the flaps of the shirt, revealing Ginny's bra-covered breasts, and then helped her to completely take off the garment, letting it drift to the floor at one side of the bed. She reached forward to cup Ginny's breasts through the material and lowered her head to kiss the exposed tops, eliciting a little moan from the younger woman.

Hermione placed little kisses all over the skin that was bare so far, kissing a line up Ginny's sternum to the base of her neck, up her throat to her chin and then lips again. Her hands held the still concealed firm breasts tenderly, ever so lightly rubbing a thumb over the area of the nipples, feeling them harden through the material.

Again Ginny couldn't help a breathy moan, and knew she wanted to feel Hermione's hands on her bare flesh. "Let me take off my bra," she said moving.

Pulling back to look into Ginny's eyes, Hermione asked, "Are you sure?"

"Absolutely!" said Ginny, surprising herself a little in her enthusiasm. _I'm very sure of it._

"Let me, then," said Hermione, with a little chuckle.

Sitting up and forwards a little, Ginny was prepared for Hermione to have to fiddle with the hooks. Hermione hugged Ginny and buried her nose into her hair, pressing small kisses to the side of her neck, as she reached around and found the back of the bra. She had it unhooked in one easy movement.

_How did she do that? _thought Ginny, _in my dream, I was hopeless at undoing _her _bra! _

However, further thought was soon moved on in Ginny's mind as Hermione sat back again, ever so carefully sliding the shoulder straps of the bra forwards. Ginny moved so the bra could be easily pulled off from her arms, and then settled back again; she was truly under Hermione's gaze now.

Hermione looked at Ginny, looking into her eyes, then lowering and lowering her vision to rest upon those firm mounds of flesh which were Ginny's, which Ginny had wanted her to see, to touch. _They're perfect, _Hermione thought, wanting to laugh at her own thoughts. _She's beautiful...and she's letting me, _wanting_ me, to see this? I love her, I know I do._

Ginny reached for Hermione's hands and held them a second, knowing she was blushing from a cross between embarrassment and desire, and giving an almost imperceptible sigh, she slowly placed Hermione's hands over her bare breasts, sucking in a little breath as she felt those hands touch her.

For several moments, Hermione tenderly held Ginny's breasts, enjoying the feeling of the erect nipples touching her palms, the warmth of Ginny's skin against them and feeling the redhead's heart thumping a bit faster than a steady beat. Hermione leaned over and pressed her lips to Ginny's, wanting to convey her care and desire for her, their tongues gently meeting and dancing with each other.

Moving her hands slightly, Hermione dragged her thumbs slowly over Ginny's nipples and back again, the redhead moaning into her mouth. Every touch back and forth sending a jolt of desire to Ginny's groin.

Hermione nibbled at Ginny's lips, then she kissed along her cheek to an ear, licking the earlobe. "May I...," she said, stopping, unable to complete her sentence. _ Maybe it's too much..., _she thought unsure.

"May you, what?" asked Ginny, in almost a whisper. _I hope she's asking about what I think she's asking? _she thought, _it can't be anything else yet...surely?_

_Bugger it, be honest...ask! _"May I kiss your breasts?" asked Hermione, in a quiet, timid whisper. "You know...all of them?"

Ginny couldn't help giving a little chuckle. _Ten points to Gryffindor,_ she thought, amused to herself, for guessing correctly the first time. At the same time she felt that amusement, she also felt a fluttering feeling low down. "You don't have to ask," she said.

"I always will, though," said Hermione, as she sat back and looked into Ginny's eyes. "I care about you too much to just assume I can do things."

"Well, I give you permission to assume, in this case!" said Ginny, with a grin, as she moved down the bed, more lying down than sitting now.

Kissing her briefly on the lips again, Hermione kissed down Ginny's neck in a trail, which felt like a hundred butterflies landing on the red-haired woman's skin, as the older girl made her way lower. Holding Ginny's left breast, her thumb gently rubbing over the nipple again, Hermione lowered her head to Ginny's right breast, kissing the nipple, then licking it, before taking it into her mouth and swirling her tongue over it and sucking it lightly. _This is a hundred times better than I imagined_, thought Hermione, as she continued to love the nipple with her mouth.

"Ohhh," Ginny uttered, somewhere between a moan and a sigh.

"Are you okay?" Hermione asked, stopping and looking up.

"Yes," Ginny nearly squeaked, "Yes, I'm very okay!"

Hermione then continued to give the same love and attention to Ginny's other breast, also loving how Ginny was squirming a little.

_I bet I'm as wet as hell, now,_ thought Ginny, all too aware that she had a serious desirous ache between her legs and a tugging feeling at her very core.

After a long time of Hermione loving her breasts, Ginny finally said, "Hermione, I feel amazing...it's...you're...making my whole body feel on fire...like I...I can't describe it."

The brunette smiled back, blushing a little, and slowing her movements, she placed a soft kiss on each nipple before making her way back up to kiss Ginny on the lips. "You enjoyed it?"

"Very much." Ginny closed her eyes, feeling shy again. "It's better than I ever imagined."

"I'd have to agree with that," said Hermione. "I think I should stop now...I...we..."

"I know...I understand...," said Ginny, placing a kiss on Hermione's lips. "Did you like your winner's prize?"

Hermione laughed, "It's the best prize I've ever won. But...," she paused, feeling nervous herself.

"But?"

"I think the loser should have their runners-up prize now."

"A loser's prize?" Ginny asked, with a quizzical expression. _Is she saying what I think she's saying?_ she thought.

Taking hold of Ginny's hands, Hermione placed them on her chest and then undid her own top button on her shirt.

_She _does _mean what I thought she did,_ Ginny thought in wonderment. "Let me," said Ginny, as she moved her hands to the buttons of the shirt. Hermione moved her hands away, gave a warm, shy smile and marvelled at Ginny unbuttoning her shirt.

Ginny gazed upon Hermione's breasts, at this time still held within her bra; she cupped them with her hand, squeezing gently. She didn't need to feel for Hermione's nipples, she could see them pushing against the material.

The older girl sat forward so Ginny could reach around and unhook her bra. Ginny was suddenly revisited by one of her dreams. _Don't bodge it up, do NOT bodge it up, _she thought to herself, as she reached around for the hooks. She was therefore relieved to unhook Hermione's bra in one go, easily. _Thank Merlin for that!_ she thought.

Hermione gave a little giggle. "I don't think Merlin has anything to do with it!"

_Bugger, I said it out loud,_ thought Ginny, _oh well I'll tell her, it's sort of funny_. "It's a long story, but I dreamed of doing that, and I couldn't...you had to do it for me like I was some stupid bloke!"

"You passed with flying colours," said Hermione, amused.

Ginny sat back and helped Hermione pull off her bra. Of course, this wasn't the first time Ginny had seen Hermione's bare breasts, but it _was_ the first time she was allowed to look, allowed to touch and allowed to think lusty thoughts, without having to hide her feelings.

Reaching forward, Ginny cupped Hermione's breasts, loving the feel of them in her hands. Instinctively she rubbed her thumbs over the already hard nipples, causing Hermione to give a little gasp. Ginny kissed Hermione on the lips, deeply and passionately, and was surprised to find herself emboldened rather than nervous, now she was finally able to touch Hermione's chest with no guilt or uncertainty. It all felt right, and she wanted to caress Hermione's soul, let her feel the desire she had for her and the care and the...love.

_I love her,_ Ginny thought, as she continued to kiss and touch Hermione. _I can feel it so strongly. It's a feeling like I want no one to touch her except me, and no one to touch me, except her._

Breaking from their long kiss, almost panting for breath, Ginny looked into Hermione's eyes. "May I..." She didn't get to finish the sentence.

"Of course," said Hermione. "I want to feel what you felt."

"Ah...um...," Ginny hesitated. "I might not be as good as you...I'll try."

"Don't worry," said Hermione, smiling warmly, amazed she wasn't blushing and feeling she should be. "Instincts, Ginny...trust to that and you'll be fine." Hermione tugged Ginny back to her, kissing her on the lips, leaving nibbling little tugs on her lower lip.

_Here we go, then,_ thought Ginny nervously, expecting to be terrible at what she wanted to do, as she kissed Hermione's neck, licking at the hollow where neck meets collarbone. _Don't be an idiot,_ she thought, _you love her, sooo _love _her. _Those last thoughts, wiped out most of her nerves.

Kissing her way down from Hermione's neck, Ginny left light kisses on nearly every inch of bare flesh and as she held one breast, firmly and tenderly flicking the nipple with her thumb, she took the other nipple into her mouth. She pressed her tongue against it, swirled over it, sucked and kissed at it. _This is amazing, _Ginny thought. _I can't believe I'm doing this._

Hermione arched her body up slightly, enjoying the sensations she was feeling beyond comprehension. _This feels so good, _she thought, before letting out a throaty little moan as Ginny moved her mouth to her other breast and began giving it the same attention. Every time Ginny sucked or licked at Hermione's nipples, it felt like she was tugging at something deep within her, almost like she was touching her between the legs. _Shit!_ thought Hermione, _I never knew this would feel so good. And she was worried she'd be crap at it!_ "Ohhhh", she moaned unavoidably.

"Sorry," said Ginny, slowing her ministrations, realizing she might have been a little too attentive to the nipple before her.

"It's okay, Gin," said Hermione in a breathy voice, placing a hand against Ginny's cheek, and looking into her eyes. "It wasn't discomfort, it was purely pleasure." She sighed. "I so want to say 'Don't stop'," she said, smiling, "...but I think I'd mean a lot more than just this if we went on much longer, and I'm...not...I don't think...,"

Ginny moved herself up and pressed a soft kiss to Hermione's lips. "I know what you mean, I _do_," she said, as she lay down beside Hermione, keeping an arm around her. "If I only made you feel half of what you did for me...well...you must be..."

"What?"

Coughing before she could say it, Ginny finally said, "Wet?"

Hermione gave a little laugh, before whispering, "Believe me, I definitely am!" It made them both laugh, somewhere between embarrassment and being extremely turned on.

Looking over to where the clock was in the room, Ginny said, "I suppose we ought to get some sleep now, especially if we're paying Borgin another visit tomorrow?"

"Yeah, we should, it's getting late."

They both got up from the bed, picked up their shirts to place with the skirts later, to transfigure back into the original dresses. Hermione watched Ginny a few moments, distracted by the swell and sway of her bare breasts. Suddenly she said, "Ginny, come here and hug me."

"What?" asked a surprised Ginny.

"Come and give me a hug."

Ginny walked round the bed and wrapped her arms around Hermione, who embraced her back. Both became aware of their breasts touching, meeting exactly and perfectly at the right height.

"Hmm...that feels nice," said Ginny.

"I thought it would," said Hermione. "That's why I wanted to try it."

"Isn't the saying, 'try anything once'?" asked Ginny.

"Oh, I think I'll be trying this many more times than once!" laughed Hermione. "As long as you're agreeable to it?"

Ginny hugged Hermione again to give her an answer and before extricating herself from the brunette, she kissed her once more.

Feeling more relaxed and more at ease with each other than ever before, they'd soon got ready for bed, transfigured the clothes back to their original form and were cuddled up together to sleep.

Despite the death, destruction, stress, physical and mental pain, and a list of other things the two young women had been through in recent weeks, they both felt content, and that was largely due to finding their true feelings for each other. Together they felt much stronger than when they had been just two platonic friends.

XXXXXXXXXX

Hermione was the first to wake up the next morning, feeling refreshed and not remembering any dreams. She turned a little to find Ginny's head close to hers on the pillows, the girl still asleep.

_She looks so peaceful and still, _thought Hermione. Then she remembered the previous evening, smirking to herself. _But I certainly know the fire and passion she can produce...she set _me_ on fire last night._

For several minutes Hermione was watching Ginny as she slept on, noticing every soft steady breath, every flick of her eyelids and taking in the beauty of her freckles, which made Hermione want to reach out and stroke her cheek, to kiss it. _She's turned into such a beautiful young woman, _she thought.

Ginny stirred, giving an adorable little grunt before opening her eyes, immediately finding herself looking into Hermione's eyes.

"Good morning," said Hermione. "Sleep well?"

"Apparently, hmm, I think so," said Ginny, stifling a yawn and stretching out the arm that had been outside the covers.

"Did you have any dreams?"

"None I can remember."

"I didn't dream either; nothing I can recall," said Hermione. "Perhaps it's because we relaxed each other before bed last night...it seems to sometimes work. "

"Hmm...maybe," said Ginny, her eyes definitely twinkling now, as she remembered last night too.

Hermione moved forward a little and placed a small kiss on Ginny's lips. "Thanks for my winner's prize."

Ginny kissed her back. "Thanks for my loser's prize, although...I don't think it _was_ a loser's prize, because if it was, people would want to lose a lot more often."

She wasn't sure why, but in the few minutes she'd been awake this morning, Ginny felt different, she felt more sure of everything, more ready to face Borgin again, and less..._I feel less what?_ she thought. Then it came to her..._less shy about touching Hermione._

As if to prove to herself that she was indeed feeling that way, Ginny leaned over and kissed Hermione for a bit longer, and smoothed a hand down under the covers, rubbing past Hermione's breast, finding the hem of the brunette's T'Shirt, and sliding her hand up inside it. Hermione made a little noise of surprise, but not of shock. Ginny broke the kiss to look into Hermione's eyes, making sure she wasn't doing something that wasn't wanted. She saw no reluctance or doubt before her, and continued to watch those warm eyes as her hand slid over smooth skin and found their goal.

When Ginny's hand reached and then held Hermione's breast, the brunette gave a tiny yelp and flinched. "Did I do something wrong?" asked Ginny, concerned.

"No...your fingers are cold!" laughed Hermione.

Smiling, Ginny kissed Hermione again, slowly, sensually, then kissed her in a series of little pecks. "You'll soon warm me up," said Ginny in a whisper. She rubbed her thumb and fingers over Hermione's hardened nipple. "I don't think it's just the cold doing that, do you?" she said, giving the nipple a little tug to emphasize her meaning.

They kissed for a while longer, with Hermione managing to slide her hand up Ginny's T'Shirt to play with the redhead's breasts too. Finally slowing their kisses and caressing hands, Ginny spoke, "What a wonderful way to wake up."

"It's the best morning I've ever had, so far!" said Hermione. She looked over to the clock in the room. "Merlin's baggy balls! It's gone nine o'clock!"

"We must have got carried away," grinned Ginny. "I think it might always be a problem for us. We don't have to be at Borgin & Burkes at a particular time though, do we?"

"No, but I'd like to get it over with," said Hermione, as she moved to get out of bed.

"I know what you mean," said Ginny. "I hope it's the last time we have to deal with that slimy git?"

"Hopefully, one way or another, it will be," said Hermione, as she walked towards the bathroom. She also felt different that morning, and in a positive way, and she was aware it was because of her relationship with Ginny. It made her feel more powerful in so many ways, and therefore more able to face the challenges that might await.

XXXXXXXXXX

Hermione and Ginny were nearly at the door of Borgin & Burkes, both feeling a little apprehensive, but drawing so much strength from each other, that their steps were purposeful and not reluctant.

The shop looked even more dark and dingy than ever, and it felt a lot more creepy, because Knockturn Alley on a Sunday was almost empty, and anyone seen there appeared more sinister than they perhaps were. Of course the two young women considered that they might give off an intimidating aura from their presence there that morning too.

As she was first to the door, Hermione knocked, clearly, on the door four times; she briefly had a flashback in her mind of knocking on Morfin Gaunt's door and quickly chased the thought away. Nothing was heard from inside the shop for a few moments and as Hermione considered knocking again, she heard footsteps.

"Sounds like someone walking downstairs," said Ginny in a quiet voice.

Moments later Borgin arrived at the door, and they heard innumerable clicks and sliding noises from a large number of locks and bolts, before the door opened. "Good morning, ladies," said Borgin with an oily smile.

"Is this a convenient time to talk with you?" asked Hermione, wondering if they might have disturbed the man in some way.

"Come in, come in," said Borgin, ushering them through the door. "I was only doing my account books and ledgers upstairs, we're the only ones here." He locked the door again once they had walked into the shop.

"We got your message," said Ginny. "The lady in question will see us?"

"Yes, she was interested by your inquiry," said Borgin. "But cautious."

"We understand," said Hermione. "But we can visit her?"

"She wants some assurance about you," said Borgin.

_Ah, the requirements,_ thought Hermione. "How or what do we need to do for this 'assurance'?" she asked, unsure as to what this might actually involve.

"It's quite simple, you allow me to write a reference for you, which you both sign and I sign," said Borgin. "I send the reference to Miss Smith and if she's happy with it, you'll hear from me again and I'll send you the information you'll need to visit her."

"So, it's more like a contract?" asked Hermione, narrowing her eyes.

"'Contract' is such a heavy word," he said.

"Yes, but that's what it sounds like?" asked Ginny. She looked to Hermione, nodded her head as if to say, I don't see a problem with it.

Hermione could also see that it was really quite simple and held minimal risk for them. If anything Borgin was the one taking the risk and trusting them.

"Mr. Borgin, you'd be taking the risk, that we are what we say we are and mean no harm to Miss Smith?" questioned Hermione. "You don't know us that well...does that mean you have a requirement for yourself?"

Borgin met her gaze with a forced smile. "Well, I was going to get to that," he said, clasping his hands together and only just stopping himself from dry-washing them.

"What is your requirement?" asked Ginny. "Money? We've already given you quite a sum."

"Yes, and I'm most grateful, but if you added another five hundred, it would cover any need, should I have to disappear quickly...if you get my meaning?"

"We get your meaning," said Hermione, sighing. "I need a moment to talk with my friend." Hermione walked with Ginny away from the shop counter. "What do you think?"

"I think he's still taking the biggest risk," said Ginny. "We've got the money, let's do it and hope that woman is accepting of the reference, contract thingy."

"I agree," said Hermione. She gave a little smile to Ginny and they walked back to Borgin. "We agree to those terms."

"Excellent," said Borgin. "As it happens I've written up the paperwork already, just in case. If you would both read it and sign your names at the bottom."

The paperwork read like a glowing reference for a job interview and made out Ginny and Hermione were the perfect clients, trustworthy and avid collectors; words such as 'discreet' and 'aware' also gave the impression that they knew how to keep confidances and understood the seedy world of rare and dark arts collectables.

Ginny counted out the gold from their purses, only just avoiding a grimace at handing over so much money again.

"That's all in order," said Borgin. "I'll get this sent off straight away and I hope to be able to give you a definite answer later today. You're still staying at The Leaky Cauldron?"

"Yes," said Hermione. "We'll be staying there the rest of the day."

"Thank you very much for your custom, ladies," said Borgin, giving a small bow. "I hope you'll be return customers in the future."

"We hope so too," said Ginny. "Thank you." _Yuck, what a slimy pile of crap!_ she thought.

"Thank you for all your help," said Hermione. "We definitely made the right choice when we decided to shop here." _I can heap on the sickly falseness too,_ she thought.

Borgin unlocked the door for them and they both shook his proffered hand as they left; both young women had the usual feeling of wanting to run away from the place as fast as they could, but both maintained their demure, calmness as if it wasn't a troubling place to be in at all, and they were in no hurry. As usual, they felt an overwhelming sense of relief once they reached Diagon Alley and felt able to breathe easier.

"That went well, then," said Ginny.

"Yes," replied Hermione. "I just hope the old bat agrees to it, and all this money and faffing about has been worth it."

"Me too," said Ginny, as they made their way back to The Leaky Cauldron.

XXXXXXXXXX

Back in their room Hermione extracted the fake Cup from her bag, turning it over in her hands, knowing it was nearly identical to the one she and Ron had destroyed.

"What are you thinking?" asked Ginny.

"Although we don't have the final agreement yet, we're going to have to work out how to swap the Cups; firstly, so we know which one is which, and also how to do it in front of an elf and her beady-eyed mistress. Something tells me we only get one shot at it. We can't go back a second time."

"In my mind I'm thinking this woman is like a version of Auntie Muriel, in a slightly more hysterical flowery way, with less bite. The elf is an unknown quantity."

"I'm good with house-elves," said Hermione. Then something came to her. "You're good with Auntie Muriel."

"Hardly!" exclaimed Ginny.

"You've dealt with her your whole life...I mean...her type."

"I suppose so."

"I remember what Harry told Ron and I about the memory from the pensieve," said Hermione. "Hepzibah sat there and got her elf to fetch the Cup, and she mentioned something about it being a family heirloom, so she assumes that she's related to Helga Hufflepuff..that might be useful to us. I wish I could remember the elf's name...I know Harry told it to us. It's not important, but I hate forgetting things like that. Anyway, I can't follow the elf and get close to it, because the woman will see it and there's no way I'll have time to work on the elf and make friends. You might not like this...but...I can see only one way to do this."

"Which is?" asked Ginny, uncertainly.

"A double _imperius_ attack."

"A what? _IMPERIUS! _Are you really suggesting what I think you are?"

"I know it sounds awful and is something close to You Know Who's methods, but we mean no harm, we just need them to forget the moment we handle the real Cup. We'll only need a mild strength on the curse, and in seconds the deed will be done," said Hermione.

"So you're saying that, I curse the woman and you tackle the elf?"

"Yes. I know it sounds like you've got the harder target, but elves and their special brand of magic mean I'll have to be pinpoint accurate and fast. When interacting with the elf, I can't be too kind to it, because people in this world wouldn't be, but by praising its mistress and making sure we're licking up to her, we'll make the elf feel at ease. You're used to talking to cantankerous old ladies, so you'll be good with Hepzibah. Kind of telling her what she wants to hear."

Ginny sighed, but in some ways it made the plan incredibly easy. Where as with Gaunt they couldn't use magic, this made things simpler and probably safer. "All right, agreed."

"It will be best to only whisper the actual curse, so there's less chance of giving away even a fraction of a second for them to react. I can nearly cast it with no volume...it's not the same as all that tricky wordless magic, because you're sort of saying the spell still," explained Hermione.

"Yeah, I'm okay with that too. I learned to do the almost silent whisper method when playing tricks on my brothers," said Ginny with a smile. "That leaves us with preparing up to that point, because we obviously can't just strike as soon as we enter through the door."

"We'll have to do some work in showing off our wares and talk about Borgin like he's become our favourite person in the whole world, then hopefully she'll show us some of her things...and then we should get a moment to ask about a rumour we heard, about her link to Helga Hufflepuff, and the Cup won't be far away. We'll have to be very vague about our information. But then, when we pull out our own Cup, I'm hoping she'll get the elf to bring out hers, this will be a distraction, and that's when we strike and swap. If the elf doesn't bring out the Cup, I'll have to _imperius_ it stronger and get the elf to bring it to me...some bits we can't plan too much, but it's about all I can think of."

"If Fred or George did it, they'd have some crafty way of swapping it under everyone's noses," said Ginny. "But I'd be worried about getting muddled up and taking the fake Cup back again by mistake."

"Exactly," agreed Hermione. "And since it's just us, we'll have to play with our own talents...and that's spells and curses, and lately we've also got good at convincing people we're something we're not."

All they needed now, was the letter saying that Hepzibah was willing to see them, and to find where she lived.


	50. The Fens

**A/N: This chapter has a little bit of everything...**

50: The Fens

Hermione and Ginny had spent the rest of the day at The Leaky Cauldron; some of the time was spent reading, some playing cards, and some kissing.

It was after they had had some dinner and were on their way back up to their room, when Tom called to them that he'd just had a message arrive for them. Calmly, Hermione took the sealed envelope from the landlord and went back upstairs.

Ginny had gone on ahead and was seated on the bed when Hermione walked back in. "This is it, then?" she asked.

"Looks like it," said Hermione, as she went to sit next to Ginny on the bed. "Only one way to find out."

Sliding her finger under the plain wax seal, Hermione opened the envelope and slid out a folded sheet of paper. She unfolded it and read it out loud:

_Dear Miss Parkinson & Miss Wade,_

_My client has accepted your request and would be happy to see you, any time in the next two days. If you waited longer than that, she says she would wonder why there was a delay, if you were so keen to see her, so best to see her sooner rather than later if you do pay her a visit. I say again, she's cautious._

"She obviously dropped her guard with You Know Who," said Ginny, commenting on that sentence.

"Sadly," said Hermione, before she continued reading:

_My client lives in the Fens, in the village of Welches Dam in Cambridgeshire. She says you won't have trouble finding her house as it's the only house just before the next village of Purls Bridge, and only magical people can see it._

_Once more, may I thank you for your custom and hope to see you again soon. If there's anything else I can help you with, don't hesitate to contact me._

_Yours Faithfully_

_Borgin_

"Faithful, my arse!" said Hermione, suddenly. "He's only faithful to money. But at least we've got what we wanted."

"Yeah, we've got the thing we worked for," said Ginny, before adding, "The first part anyway; there will still be the swap thing to try and work out. Anyway, have you heard of those villages?"

"No," replied Hermione, as she went and picked up her beaded bag, taking it back to the bed, before sticking a hand into it, rummaging, and pulling out several folded maps from a box folder.

"Is it a magical village, like Godric's Hollow?" asked Ginny, thinking that magical books were the only kind Hermione carried with her.

"I don't know if it is or isn't, but with my maps we'll at least know where we're aiming for." Hermione shuffled through several folded Ordnance Survey maps, before she found the one which covered the Fens and Cambridgeshire.

"Muggle maps?"

"Yes," replied Hermione. "In this case it will be more helpful than a magical book. I bought up nearly every OS map I could, ready for when Harry, Ron and I left. I rarely used them, but I just thought they might be useful. They weren't for Little Hangleton...because I think that place is a little strange and rarely gets mentioned anywhere...and...and I sort of forgot I had them until we left Godric's Hollow for here."

"Don't worry about it," said Ginny, sensing that Hermione was annoyed with herself. "We managed. Also, it's hard to think of everything, when we have so many other things to think about."

Scanning the map for a few minutes, Hermione finally found the area containing Welches Dam. "Found it!" she said happily. "It looks tiny, even on an OS map."

"A good place to tuck herself away," said Ginny, looking at the map in front of her. The layout of the area seemed odd to her, even though she hadn't studied that many maps before. "Hermione, how come the rivers are all dead straight?"

Hermione studied the map and looked at the area and saw two rivers side by side and almost perfectly straight. Then looking at the very low land to sea level figures, she remembered the reason for it. "The rivers are man made," she said. "Most of the Fens were under water in centuries past, and were drained to create farmland and so on. Anyway, the rivers probably help maintain the drainage...but it explains why they're so straight. No natural twists and turns."

"Sounds like a very odd place indeed," considered Ginny. "So do we move on tomorrow?"

"Might as well, if you're ready?"

"I don't think I'll ever be 'ready'," Ginny laughed. "But we might as well try to get this thing nearer to being done with. We might fail...but at least we have a chance to have a go at it."

"There's a chance we might have to use the tent, if we can't find her house at first, or she's not there and we have to stay a night," said Hermione, as she studied the map. "I don't think there will be anywhere to stay, and we know nothing about the pubs in the area. At least with Great Hangleton we could have moved onto Little Hangleton to the pub there...with this, I don't have any idea."

"There's no magical wardings to worry about."

"Exactly," said Hermione. "We can put up protective enchantments and hide ourselves. It worked for most of the time I was with Ron and Harry."

"I think I'd look forward to the tent," said Ginny. "We won't have to keep worrying about people listening at the door or signing our blasted names everywhere. Although..."

"What?"

"Food?" said Ginny. "I know, I know, I'm always thinking about it, but it might be a problem this time?"

"That's true," replied Hermione. "We can make a quick trip to Diagon Alley before we leave, to stock up."

"What will we wear to go to Hepzibah's?"

"The same things we've been wearing here."

"I'm actually relieved about that," said Ginny.

"We won't need to be WAAFs where we're going," said Hermione. "If she lived in a more populated area, we might have had to consider it, but a village in the Fens, no, we're fine."

"I've been thinking about our plan for the swap," said Ginny. "If we pull out our wands suddenly, there's a fraction of a second warning that something is about to happen. That could be our downfall."

"Hmm, you're absolutely right." Hermione was thoughtful for a few moments. "We need to be using our wands as if it's completely natural and something we frequently have in our hands."

"Why don't we summon the items from our bags with our wands?" suggested Ginny. "I imagine people like us would be lazy and using magic for every little thing. Then our wands are in view and not seen as something sinister or sudden."

"It works for me," said Hermione with a smile. "We could still do with a word to do the curses at the same time though."

"Perhaps we can think of something on our way there?"

"That's settled, then," said a very contented and business-like Hermione.

The rest of the evening the two young women sorted out their bags, taking a check of their money situation, safely stored the items they had bought from Borgin & Burkes, checking on the fake Cup in the process. Both of their original Grimmauld Place dresses, they cleaned with wands and had everything ready to leave the next morning.

Hermione opted to take a bath, knowing that the tent would have facilities if they had to use it, but not knowing if they'd have the time. Once finished and dressed for bed, she went back into the bedroom, passing Ginny on her way for her turn in the bath.

Ginny stopped Hermione in her tracks and hugged her, taking a subtle sniff, and smelling the cherry bubblebath again, she gave a suppressed laugh.

"What?" Hermione asked.

"You're still using the red bubblebath," said Ginny, as she stood back and smiled.

"You're never going to let me forget that, are you?" said a resigned Hermione.

"No," laughed Ginny. Then she put her arms around the brunette again and kissed her. "I'll never forget how lovely you smell."

Feeling a little flustered, Hermione shoved Ginny in the direction of the bathroom. "Yes, well...you can sniff all you want, later. Get your bath done, now!"

"Are you pulling rank on me, Corporal?" asked Ginny, with a smirk.

"Yes!" Hermione tried to keep a serious face, but failed. "I was just hoping for some...kisses, before I drop off to sleep. I didn't want to miss out and drop off before you get into bed."

Ginny smirked even more. "In that case, I'll happily obey orders!"

After the bathroom door closed Hermione got into bed and sat up for a while. Despite the plans for the next day, she found herself wandering off into other thoughts. _Obey orders indeed! _she thought, amused. _Maybe I _should _pull rank, walk into the bathroom and order her to let me watch her bath...help her dry off. I could dry her off with my tongue...HERMIONE GRANGER, behave! _

After a little while Hermione slid down the bed to lie down, while thinking of more practical things about their next challenge, already beginning to wonder about different ideas on how to swap the Cup, once they were inside Hepzibah's house, if initial plans didn't work.

Hermione must have dozed off, because the next thing she knew, there was a hand lightly holding her breast and she felt kisses against her neck. "Ginny? I must have dozed off."

"Yeah, you did," said Ginny. "I was going to let you sleep, but I want my bedtime kiss too."

"You do, do you?" said Hermione, as she brushed back Ginny's hair over one of her shoulders. "Come and take it, then."

Lowering her head, Ginny captured Hermione's lips with her own, their tongues immediately joined. Hermione ran her hands up and down Ginny's back, before slipping her hands under the T'Shirt the redhead wore, to run her hands over her smoothe skin. In a quick movement she flipped them, so Ginny was lying on her back and Hermione hovered over her.

As they continued to kiss Hermione pushed up Ginny's T'Shirt and moved herself lower to kiss Ginny's breasts, knead them with her hands, tease the nipples with tongue and fingers. They both began to breathe faster, and emitted more little moans of pleasure. _I love breasts, _thought Hermione, _I love Ginny's breasts, anyway. How on earth did I get to this? It doesn't matter, what she and I have together is _all _that matters._

Naturally things slowed down and Hermione and Ginny shared several soft, tender kisses, just lips pressed to lips, gentle and loving. They finally settled for the night, with Hermione close up to Ginny, an arm around her, with Ginny's hand laid lightly onto that arm. In no time at all the steady breaths of sleep had reached them both.

Ginny entered a dream, but for the moment it held no terrors for her..._zzzzzzz_

_I've faced Riddle, done deals with Borgin, _she thought, _plus having some of the most disturbing dreams before all that...I think I can face most things now._

She was walking up a flight of stairs at Hogwarts, and recognized it was leading to the Portrait of the Fat Lady and the Gryffindor Common Room. When she reached the portrait it held Kendra Dumbledore instead.

"What are _you_ doing here?" Ginny asked.

"None of your business," said Kendra, with an audible sniff.

"Are you going to let me in?"

"Password?"

"You know who I am!" said Ginny.

"Password?"

"I don't know it."

"No entry then," said Kendra.

_This is a dream, _thought Ginny, _you can do anything, maybe any old phrase or word will let you in. _"Just a moment!" she said, "I remember now. It's 'Old Hag'."

Kendra looked at Ginny. "You may enter," she said, as the portrait swung forwards.

_It worked, _thought Ginny, _she never guessed I was thinking of her, when I said it._

The Common Room was empty and Ginny made her way up to the girl's Dormitory, but no one was there either. So, she sat on a bed and looked out of a window.

"I thought I'd find you here," said a voice.

Ginny turned to look towards the door, it was Hermione. Smiling, she beckoned to the brunette, who came and sat beside her. "Did you want to see me to talk about something?"

Hermione held her hand, and with her other she raised it up to cup Ginny's cheek. "Talk? No," Hermione said. "See? Yes." She then closed the distance between them and their lips met, at first softly, then more urgent.

_I know I've been doing this for real, _Ginny thought, _but I'm not complaining about dreaming it too._

Their kisses were hungry and searching, passionate and thrilling. They began tugging on each other's clothing and it seemed to Ginny that they must have used magic, because they were both bare from the waist up in seconds, with no need for an awkward 'undoing bra moment'.

Hands, lips and tongues, kissed, nipped and caressed every inch of bare flesh, and suddenly Ginny was aware that they were both now completely naked. _That was quick, _she thought, wanting to laugh, _I hate to think of what I'm saying or doing in my sleep! And shit, we're getting naked in the Dormitory?_

Hermione pushed her back on the bed and hovered over her, before lowering herself onto Ginny, which made them both exhale a breathy moan at the contact. They were straight back into kissing and Ginny had slid her hands down Hermione's back and was grabbing her backside, pushing her into her groin, wanting to be closer. _Great, I'm groping Hermione's backside, _Ginny thought, amused, _I bet no one has done it like that, in these circumstances...in fact I _know _they haven't!_

Ginny could feel the heat and desire in her groin and wasn't sure how far they were going in this dream, when she got her answer. She could feel Hermione's hand between them, and felt her fingers exploring her, gently rubbing at her centre, before feeling two fingers slide lower ready to enter her. _Yes, _she thought, _do it...please. _Just as Ginny was about to get the dream to do as she wanted, it changed, when a voice called out.

"Ginny? Are you in there?"

_Bollocks! _she thought, recognizing the voice, _why does Harry have to keep doing this to me in my dreams?_

Her frustration and anger must have seeped through to her dream-self as she answered sharply, "What do you want?"

Harry walked into the Dormitory and abruptly halted when he saw Ginny naked beneath a naked Hermione. "W...what's going on?"

"Harry!" Ginny spluttered. "You can't be in here...boys can't get into the girl's dorms?"

"Apparently we can," answered Harry, as he watched Hermione quickly cover them with a bedspread. "Again, I ask, what's going on?" he said, looking from Ginny to Hermione and back.

"I hardly think it needs explaining!" replied Ginny. "And it's none of your business!"

"I think it is, I happen to be..."

"Harry, I'm sick of this!" said Ginny, voicing the annoyed tone the real Ginny was feeling. "You're always barging into my dreams, and either rotting and grabbing out at me, or accusing me of being a slag, or words to that effect. And I've had enough!"

"What we had was...," Harry tried to say, but was cut off.

"Here we go again," said Ginny. "Yes, I loved you, a part of me always will, but I don't think we were meant to be together, whatever happened. I haven't jumped the first thing with a heartbeat, what I feel for Hermione is so much deeper than that, and deeper than what you and I had."

"You never...," Harry tried again.

"YES I _DID_ LOVE YOU!" shouted Ginny, exasperated. "I thought I made that part clear? We all have to go through certain things to realize our true feelings and what I have for Hermione is true. Yes, I've felt guilty about the speed of our relationship, but I can't ignore my instincts...like _you've_ told me to do in these dreams."

"I did say that, didn't I?" Harry said, thoughtful.

"Yes, you did. You've often been almost cryptic, but I've not forgotten to use my instincts, and I believe I've made the right choices."

"Hmm."

"Unless you have something else to say, will you kindly leave?" asked Ginny. Hermione had been watching the whole exchange but hadn't said a word.

"There _was _something," said Harry.

"What now?" asked an impatient Ginny.

"Hermione will be good with Hokey."

"WHAT? Who or what is 'hokey'?"

"I thought it might be useful, to remember it," he said, ignoring Ginny's confusion.

Bewildered and thinking it was nonsense and that she wasn't going to get an answer in this bizarre dream, Ginny impatiently asked, "Is that all?" When Harry nodded, she added, "Will you leave now, please?"

Looking extremely sad, Harry began to say, "I never thought you would end up with Hermione...I...,"

"Harry will you shut up and...PISS OFF...PLEASE!"..._zzzzzzz_

Ginny awoke, taking in a breath of air, and letting out a cough. She turned her head and found Hermione awake and looking at her. "I woke you up _again_?"

"Are you all right?" asked Hermione, holding Ginny's hand and looking into her eyes. "You were making some...interesting noises in your sleep, then you started shouting?"

"Well...I expect the noises were from...what you were doing to me in my dream," said Ginny with a nervous laugh, blushing.

"Oh really?"

"Hmm, it was all _very_ nice, until Harry showed up again."

"What did he do this time?"

"Not a lot, he was trying to talk to me, but something just snapped in me...and I didn't let him get a word in. He was only repeating the usual stuff he's always saying in my dreams. I was frustrated, because...we were naked and I...well...wanted that to continue," said Ginny still blushing. "So I got shirty with Harry and yelled at him to leave, if he didn't have anything else to say."

"Did he leave?"

"He said he had something else to say," replied Ginny. "All he said that was new was, 'Hermione will be good with hokey'. That was it, and I yelled at that useless, pointless bit of information and then not long after that I woke up, instead of getting back to what we were...doing."

"'Hermione will be good with hokey'," repeated the brunette.

"Yes, does that mean something to you? Or is this really a load of crap from my mind?"

"Hokey," Hermione paused, deep in thought. "Shit, HOKEY!"

"Yes?"

"That's the name of Hepzibah Smith's house-elf: 'Hokey'. I didn't think knowing her name was important, but it will stop me wondering," said Hermione. "Maybe you overheard us talk about the elf last year and it came back into your thoughts?"

Ginny thought hard. "Maybe. I've never knowingly heard of it...I didn't even know what it was, let alone being a house-elf!"

"Maybe you heard it, but didn't take any notice of it, so it was buried in your subsconscious. Either way, I'm pleased I know the name now."

"It's not really useful, though, is it?"

"Remember Dumbledore said, the elf, Hokey, was made to think she had poisoned and killed her mistress?" said Hermione. "It was You Know Who all along who had controlled the situation, but the elf was very close to her mistress. It keeps the details fresh in our minds, if nothing else."

"So, was my mind conjuring up that thought, wondering if we'll have to work on the elf a bit more than we thought?" asked Ginny, her brow furrowed, deep in thought.

"It might be, or it might be your brilliant brain finding an answer to stop mine from going crazy trying to remember the blasted name!" replied Hermione. "It hasn't hurt to be reminded that the first face we'll probably see will be Hokey's. It's not a _bad_ reminder, let's put it that way."

"Hmm. So it wasn't a completely useless dream? Just frustrating?" asked Ginny, with half a smile.

"It would seem so," said Hermione. She leaned over and kissed Ginny. "Let's get back to sleep...and maybe you can continue that dream and whatever I was doing to you," she laughed, before cuddling into Ginny's side again.

_I wouldn't mind Hermione doing that to me for real, _thought Ginny, _instead of going back to the dream version. Hmm, too much going on to add that into the mix...the dream is best for now._

XXXXXXXXXX

Hermione and Ginny both awoke at a decent time, dressed, had some breakfast downstairs and then Ginny went to Diagon Alley for food shopping while Hermione did a final check on their items from Borgin & Burkes, the fake Cup and their WAAF papers, which might still be needed at some point.

With the food packed away, some into Ginny's bag, some into Hermione's beaded bag, they both went downstairs to settle up their bill with Tom. At around midmorning they walked into the yard at the back of The Leaky Cauldron, held hands and let Hermione Disapparate both of them to a field near to Welches Dam.

After having studied the detailed muggle maps, Hermione was hoping the place she was aiming for would find them at the edge of a field and hopefully near the cover of hedgerows or thicker vegetation.

Enduring the usual sensations of Apparating and Side-Along Apparating the two women found themselves mostly where they had hoped. They stood in the corner of a field and right near the crossing where two hedgerows joined, but unfortunately they discovered they were standing in a drainage ditch, with water up to their knees. The water also smelled horrid, like stagnant pond water.

"Ew!" exclaimed Ginny.

"Sorry," said Hermione. "At least we're out of sight from people."

They both scrambled up the ditch bank to the level land of the field and aware they could hear no other people nearby, Hermione and Ginny used the _tergeo _spell and dried off their clothes and feet, followed by a _scourgify _spell for good measure.

Once back to feeling dry, they took in their surroundings. It was flat fields of varying shades of brown and green for miles around, as far as the eye could see, with hardly any trees, and only a scattering of houses or farms. As luck would have it, the only real hedgerows to be seen were directly where they were standing.

"It's very flat," said Ginny.

"That's an understatement," replied Hermione.

When they looked into the very distance all they could see was a misty fog, as if the horizon didn't exist there and the land in the distance where the fog was, might shroud another world or even Avalon itself.

Hermione pulled out her map from her beaded bag, and after lots of rummaging she also pulled out a muggle compass. She folded the map to the right section and tried to get an idea of their directions.

"I didn't know muggles had such instruments?" asked Ginny.

"Muggle items can be most useful," said Hermione, as she tried to line up the map. "Which is more than I can say for a land with no discernible or obvious landmarks."

"Are there any churches? Maybe there's a church tower to help?"

"Unfortunately, it seems Welches Dam and most of the land and villages for at least ten miles around, have no old churches," said Hermione tiredly, as her map showed her no crosses, squares or circles for towered or steepled churches.

"Isn't that odd?"

"Yes," said Hermione, then she thought on it. "Actually no...before the 17th Century, these lands were marshy and under water, sooo the big medieval church-building projects didn't happen here, because 'here', didn't really exist in the centuries before. Hmm...doesn't help us much, does it?"

Hermione fiddled with the compass and map some more, then wondered if magic could help after all, as the scale of the map made the village so small it was hard to find any real direction. Many times she'd considered how James Potter, Sirius, Lupin and Pettigrew had made the Marauder's Map, and several charms and enchantments had come to her mind; had they all not been so busy, Hermione had hoped to try making her own map for other places, but of course she'd never had time. Each year at Hogwarts had been more frantic and disturbing than ever, there was no time for experiments.

Looking around again, to check they were alone, Hermione drew her wand and pointed it at the map. "_Homenum Revelio on Map!" _she said, hopeful rather than confident. After a few moments, to Ginny and Hermione's surprise, two dots appeared on the map, labelled 'Ginny Weasley' and 'Hermione Granger'.

"You've done it!" said Ginny. "You've made your own Map!"

"Well, there's us, but it doesn't tell us which way we're facing. You stay here and I'll walk twenty yards or so along the line of one of the hedges."

Walking at a medium pace, keeping her eyes on the map, Hermione was relieved to see her dot moving away from Ginny, but not in the direction they needed to go. She ran back the few yards to Ginny. "It's worked, we need to find a gap along the other hedge and walk along that one. It's not much of a lane, but should turn off to the main street leading through to that other village."

"Why don't we just Disapparate to the other side of the hedge?" suggested Ginny. "No one else is around, only I'd like to keep my feet dry this time."

In a very quick and sharp _whoosh, _both young witches appeared in the lane on the other side of the hedge. They walked a few yards and reached the turning that was visible on the map.

"We just follow the road now," said Hermione.

"Hermione, do you think the place we Apparated to would be a good place for the tent if we need to use it?"

"If we placed it a bit more into the field. Dog walkers sometimes use the edges of fields, and I wouldn't want to totally trust a muggle repelling charm."

They passed a few cottages, and further along, the landscape was even bereft of hedges. Looking across the expanse of flat land, they could clearly see a straight raised bank, quite a bit higher than the fields.

"Is that a railway line over there?" asked Ginny.

Hermione consulted her map. "Unless things were very different in 1945 compared to this 1996 map, then...no. It's one of those man made rivers."

"A river higher than the land?"

"Yes, I can't imagine why they thought of that...it must be prone to flooding," Hermione said with a little shake of her head. "Oh well, it doesn't concern us, thankfully."

As they passed another couple of cottages, with Hermione glancing at her map, she was able to see the names of the people as dots, even though their homes weren't marked. "I wonder if Hepzibah will show up for us?"

"It would make things easier for us, to know we've got the right house and don't knock on the wrong door," Ginny said, keeping her eyes ahead.

"Ginny, keep watch a moment," said Hermione, as she discreetly drew her wand again. "I want to see if I can enlarge the scale of the map." She muttered a variartion of the _engorgio _spell, directed at the map, and sure enough the scale enlarged, and despite there being very little detail before, small squares appeared for houses, with the previous named dots shown within the buildings now.

Walking for what seemed like miles but was closer to just under a mile, the air getting more foggy the further they walked, Hermione looked at her map once more and stopped. "Gin, there's one more ordinary cottage, then a gap, but the one after that...look."

Ginny looked at the map, and there labelled inside a square was 'Hepzibah Smith'. "She's at home, at least."

"Yes," sighed Hermione, as she slowly started to walk forwards again. "We're straight into the next phase, Ginny."

"In some ways I think it's better that we don't have time to stew over it. I might have felt slight relief to not find her at home...but, I think I really just want it to be over."

"I feel the same way," agreed Hermione.

They walked on, and almost seeming to suddenly appear in the misty air, was a large cottage. It had the same shimmering visage as the magical houses in Godric's Hollow. Ginny and Hermione looked at one another, and then to the garden gate and the door beyond, that they would very shortly be approaching and walking through.

**A/N: As far as I know it's never been mentioned where Hepzibah lived, so thinking on it I decided she would probably live somewhere out of the way, somewhere she wouldn't be noticed, but mysterious. Immediately the Fens came to my mind. A strange place with fogs that can last for days. One branch of my family came from the Fens and I've visited several areas of it. I chose the village of Welches Dam, because it really is in the middle of nowhere and also, an ancestor of mine was the landlord at the only pub there in the early 1800s. :)**


	51. Foggy

**A/N: When I first read about Hepzibah I had this image in my head of a cross between Queen Anne(Queen of England 1702-1714, who had the typical 18th Century big wig hair and required a square coffin when she died due to her size!) and some of the eccentric characters the late great British actress Hattie Jacques used to play. Later discussions and comments from JK Rowling herself haven't altered that image in my mind. **

51: Foggy

"I know the signal word or words we could use," said Ginny, before they walked a step closer to Hepzibah's house. "It can be the simple phrase 'It's very foggy today', with our action a moment after 'today'."

"Excellent!" said Hermione. "It's certainly true of the weather out here, and will seem like just a passing comment. Let's hope we can get _them _feeling foggy."

The two women walked forwards and through the little swing gate to the garden path. As Hermione turned to make sure the gate was shut again, she was aware that the road and scenery behind them looked a lot more foggy than when they'd been standing out there. It seemed it was part of the charms cloaking the house from the outside world.

Standing on the doorstep, they saw a little bell with a chain. Ginny felt for Hermione's hand, gave it a squeeze, then pulled on the bell. It clanged on the downward pull and upward release too. It sounded alarmingly loud, and made the two women on the doorstep grimace and grit their teeth, completely on edge.

From inside they heard a woman's voice. "Answer the door, then!"

"Yes, mistress," replied a smaller voice.

Ginny gave a side glance to Hermione, the same time the brunette looked at her; with that glance alone they both knew they were thinking, 'elf'.

The door slowly opened, and looking down Hermione and Ginny were faced by the very old and oddly sweet-looking Hokey.

"Who is it?" called a voice to the elf, which they knew must belong to Hepzibah Smith.

"Don't know yet, mistress."

"Well, ask them! Goodness me, are you a house-elf or not?"

Hokey turned back to the visitors. "To whom am I speaking?"

"Hello, I'm Rose Parkinson and this is Virginia Wade," said Hermione. "Your mistress was expecting us."

"Wait one moment, please," said Hokey, before scurrying off as fast as an elderly elf _could _scurry off, inside the house.

"You knew they might be visiting! We spoke of this!" said an annoyed voice. "Don't leave them on the doorstep, show them in!"

"This way, please," said Hokey, as the elf ushered in the two guests.

After closing the door, the elf led the two women a short way down the hall before turning off into a sitting room, where sat in an armchair, looking every inch the eccentric, was Hepzibah Smith. She was a very large older lady, wearing a big, hideously fluffed up, ginger wig and wore make-up that looked like it had been applied with a trowel.

"Do come in," Hepzibah waved.

"Hello," said Hermione. "I'm Rose and this is Virginia, but everyone knows her as 'Gin'."

"Have a seat," the Smith woman said, waving her fleshy hand at them, as her elf straightened some cushions on a sofa for them to sit on. "Well, I must say it was a lovely surprise to get Borgin's request."

"I hope you don't mind about that?" asked Hermione. "But it's so hard to meet with other genuine collectors. We always try to find ones wherever we happen to be."

"It's a nice change, to see new faces, and people with the same interests," said Hepzibah. "But where on earth did you hear about me?"

"We couldn't possibly say," said Ginny, but with a genuine smile. "It's suffice to say it was a fellow collector and they'd heard of your wonderful items, and it completely piqued our curiosity."

"Have you been buying things from Borgin?"

"Yes, we have," said Ginny. "We heard about him through the same source. I can't imagine why we'd never thought to shop with him before. What an amazing place he has, though."

"He does, doesn't he?" grinned Hepzibah. "Always a fair and trustworthy man to deal with too. He understands me completely."

_He understands your money and your gullable compulsive buying, _thought Hermione.

"We went one day and then we had to go another couple of times," said Ginny. "Rose kept seeing things, then thinking on them and deciding that we couldn't possibly not buy them."

"Let us show you a couple of things we bought," said Hermione enthusiastically, as she held her beaded bag. She smoothly took out her wand and used _Accio _to retrieve one of their items; the stunning Iceni necklace. "What do you think of that?"

"My, oh my!" exclaimed Hepzibah, her eyes glowing with genuine interest, already tinged with a little envy. "That's a beauty!"

Hermione flicked her wand to allow the necklace to travel over and lie in Hepzibah's hands. "Borgin doesn't think it has any magical properties, not much anyway, but it dates to Boudica and was in the possession of the muggle queen Anne Boleyn."

"Anne Boleyn?" said the plump lady. "She wasn't a witch. No, never. She could hardly make a herbal tea! However it's believed a couple of her ladies-in-waiting were witches."

"That's fascinating," said Hermione, actually interested. "The necklace was supposedly given to a favourite of hers, before Anne was executed, and stayed hidden for generations."

"Marvellous," said Hepzibah. "Absolutely marvellous. Had I known about this myself, I would have beaten you to it!"

"Sorry, we're not selling," smiled Ginny.

Hepzibah laughed, making her chins wobble like a jelly. "Of course not, my dears! You don't buy wonderful items like that to add to your collection one day and sell them on again the next...well...unless the Ministry wants to visit for some reason."

"Precisely," chuckled Hermione.

In the very short time they'd been talking, Hepzibah was relaxed and at ease with her young guests, and flapped a hand to Hokey. "Tea for three!" she called, as the elf disappeared, presumably to the kitchen.

"Rose chose the necklace so, I of course had to find something to spend our money on too," said Ginny, looking for a way to get her own wand into smooth use. She used _Accio _to retrieve the silver dagger, from Hermione's bag. "This completely floored me, I had to have it!"

Ginny hovered the dagger in its jewelled scabbard using a levitation spell, making it turn slowly in the air, the jewels twinkling in the light. She slowly sent the dagger over to their host, so she could take a closer look.

"That's a beauty too!" said Hepzibah.

"And useful!" said Ginny, as she watched the portly woman take a careful look at the blade.

"Is that silver?" asked Hepzibah.

"Yes, and...," Ginny lowered her voice, conspiratorially. "It works on werewolves."

"Well, silver...hmm...of course," said the older woman, talking to herself as she studied the dagger.

"We hope we never have to use it, but it's nice to know it could be very handy as well as beautiful to own," said Ginny.

"Werewolves! Disgusting brutes; filthy things," said the Smith woman. "They need to be put down the moment they're found, even if they aren't in their changed form at the time."

Hokey walked in with a tray, holding a teapot, three flowery cups and saucers, a jug of milk and a bowl of sugar. The elf prepared a cup for each of them, offering sugar and milk if it was desired. Even the tea smelled flowery and distinctly like Earl Grey. Hermione made sure not to thank the elf or even give it eye contact. What she had seen of the elf so far made it likely to be of no threat, and that meant they could both work on the woman.

Hepzibah put the dagger back in its scabbard and Ginny hovered the item back to her own lap. "Hokey," said Hepzibah, as the elf handed her a cup of tea. "Go fetch that vase...the one with the gilt lining."

"Yes, mistress."

A short time later the elf brought in a small black chest, opened it on the coffee table in the middle of the room, and took from within it a white vase, which had a gold-gilt interior surface and one small blue, willowy flower painted on the outside. Hokey very carefully handed it to Hermione.

"This may look rather dull, next to your things, but this has been in my family for generations," said Hepzibah, taking a little slurp of tea. "It's a Ming Dynasty piece from circa 1400AD, and came into my family's possession before 1500. It belonged to a Chinese warlock. Very powerful."

"What properties does it have?" asked an admiring Hermione.

"Properties? We never were sure, but it has to be powerful," sniffed the older woman. "If it came from a warlock into the hands of a wizard ancestor of mine, I highly doubt it was used to store cut flowers!"

Ginny and Hermione made a point of studying the vase, holding it with very gentle care, and making a show of their admiration for the piece. Then they'd take a sip of tea before making it seem as though they were drawn back to the vase for another look. It also used up some time as their host rambled on about Chinese warlocks and the supposed journey the vase had made.

During the time they looked at the vase and listened with outward interest to Hepzibah, Ginny had glanced once or twice at Hokey, not seeing the signs that Hermione had. It made her feel very tired trying to absorb information and do all that they had to as well, but she was a little worried about her dream. _What if the elf _is _a danger? What if that was what Harry was trying to make me see? I've got to concentrate...Hermione knows her way around elves, I have to trust to that..._

"It's so sad that these items and their uses become lost to us," said Hermione. _I'm going to try to get to deeper conversation now, _she thought, _we seem to already be comfortable with each other and are past the truly awkward phase. I'm glad that didn't really happen_.

"I know," said Hepzibah. "Thank goodness for Borgin & Burkes."

"It's like the Ministry, telling people what we can and can't own," said Hermione, aiming the conversation. "Don't they realize they're destroying our very heritage?"

_Ah, _thought Ginny, trying to forget the elf now, _it's starting! _"Exactly!" the redhead said. "Everything they confiscate or decide isn't 'proper' is another attack on our own history! I know that some things can't be made available to just anyone, but to collectors...genuine collectors, it's frustrating!"

_That's it, Ginny, _thought Hermione, _we're a true double-act! _She had seen Ginny look a little pale once or twice since they arrived and seen her occasionally flick her eyes to Hokey, and guessed that she was wondering about the danger the elf might pose. She wished there was some way to tell her that everything was fine, but now they were getting into the reasons they were even in the house, she was relieved to see Ginny straight into the right mode.

"You have the right of it there!" Hepzibah nodded her agreement, making her chins wobble like a less than set blamange.

"It's why we like to meet up with other collectors...ones into buying the same type of items. Very soon these items will just be gone, lost forever!" said Hermione, so passionately that even Ginny believed her.

"I must say it's so pleasant to hear such young women as yourselves, talking so powerfully on the subject," said the older woman. "I sometimes think that when my generation and Borgin & Burkes' passes by, that it will truly be the end of it all."

"There are a few other young collectors we know," said Ginny, thinking of Draco Malfoy so that the small lie came across as genuine in expression. "Hopefully these wonderful artefacts won't all be lost or destroyed."

"I don't trust the Ministry's judgement, that's for sure," said Hermione, thoughtfully. "I mean, when they confiscate things, who is to say they don't just keep the items for themselves, and buy and sell between each other?"

"I have considered that myself," said Hepzibah, finishing her tea with the slightest of gurgles. "Especially the rarest pieces. They're supposed to be locked away safely...but does that just mean in some corrupt Ministry worker's own vault?"

"That's a definite possibility," agreed Hermione.

"That's horrid, to think of our lovely dagger, ending up locked away at the pleasure of some dodgy Ministry official! What a waste! What a...it's...it's annoying," Ginny deliberately stuttered, as if from worried disbelief and bubbling anger.

"You have to keep your artefacts safe, my dears," said Hepzibah. "You do keep things safe?"

"Yes, multiple protection," answered Hermione. "The thought of those items being taken away...is not nice. It's not the money, it's the actual items themselves, the principle of it."

Hepzibah seemed to come to a decision then. "Hokey! Fetch the locket! Quickly!"

_Here we go, we're really getting into it, _thought Hermione, desperate not to look at Ginny and give away any body language for the lady of the house to pick up on. For all intents and purposes, Hepzibah appeared to be an eccentric, rather soft old lady, but they didn't know just how good a witch she might be under that, or how observant.

A minute later Hokey came back with a little box. "Hand it to Rose or Gin," instructed the elf's mistress. The elf did so, then took the vase away back to its safe place.

Hermione took the box from the elf and simply inclined her head to the creature, before opening the item. It took all of Hermione's resolve not to gasp or drop the item she held; for there was the Locket. It was the very thing that became a horcrux and which she, Ron and Harry had searched for to then destroy. At least in her hands now, it held none of the menace it would do in the future, once converted to a vessel to hold part of Voldemort's soul.

Ginny recognized the locket too, having come across it when cleaning around Grimmauld Place, and she knew what it would become as well. She hoped any change in her facial expressions would be construed as awe.

"That looks very old?" questioned Hermione.

"Oh it is, I can assure you," said Hepzibah, proud of her locket.

"The jewelled 'S' almost looks like a snake?" Hermione probed further.

"It does, doesn't it? Almost comes alive in the light. I'm sure it was the property of the Slytherin line, Salazar himself, in fact," said the Locket's current owner.

"Really?" Ginny said, putting on an easy gobsmacked reaction.

The puffed up old lady was immensely enjoying showing off to the young ladies in her sitting room. "I would hate for just anyone to get their hands on that!"

"We feel honoured that you're showing it to us," said Hermione, smiling. "An item of Slytherin...a founder of Hogwarts."

Ginny reverently laid the Locket back into its box and Hepzibah flicked her hand in the air and Hokey whisked the box away again to its safe place.

"I hope you don't mind me bringing this up," began Ginny, already seeing an opening. "But we heard another rumour about you."

"Did you now?" laughed the old lady, making her whole body jiggle.

"Seeing that locket made me remember, we couldn't not ask, so forgive us if we heard wrongly," said Ginny, the very embodiment of politeness.

"Ask away, Gin," said a very at ease Hepzibah Smith.

"We heard that you have Helga Hufflepuff as an ancestor. Is that true?"

"Hahaha!" laughed Hepzibah, sounding more like someone after several glasses of sherry than a cup of Earl Grey. "It's true!"

"It _is_?" asked Hermione, expressing a little overt awe as well. "That's fantastic!"

"It is, isn't it?" the old lady grinned, smugly. "To have the blood of Helga in my veins makes one feel very special."

_I think she has more than Helga's blood in her veins, _thought Ginny, _I think she has Helga's lifetime of meals in there too! _"I feel even more pleased that we've been able to meet," said Ginny.

"You never know, my dear," said Hepzibah. "We might be related, you do have my hair colour."

_Except mine is real and yours looks like it was created at a bakery, _thought Ginny as she just smiled back sweetly, _and thank goodness you never said we have the same figure!_

"To be related to a great witch or wizard like that," said Hermione. "Incredible." _Time to push a bit further, _she thought. "I've always thought Helga was looked down upon and wrongly."

"I agree," said the old woman. "Just because she didn't have the unpredictability of Salazar and his tempers, or Rowena's constant babbling nonsense of logic, or Godric's infuriating boldness and rashness of so-called courage, they always thought she was dull and average."

"We never thought that," said Hermione. "When we were first at Hogwarts, we didn't mind which House we were sorted into. Each were worthy and with their own strengths. I've often thought that Hufflepuff were the most accomplished. They didn't have one or two stand-out qualities, they had many; so many, that the other houses wouldn't have accommodated them very well."

"That's a very interesting take on the subject," said a genuinely pleased Hepzibah. "Which House were you in?"

Hermione took the lead, and decided on the truth. "We were both in Gryffindor...yes the infuriating bold lot," she chuckled.

"Well, we had to be, didn't we?" laughed Ginny. "We're such impulsive buyers, and that's one thing Gryffindors always were and are, impulsive!"

Hepzibah gave another momentous peal of laughter. "Very good!" she laughed.

It felt a little odd for Ginny and Hermione to almost talk against their School House, but this was not a regular conversation and they had to make sure their host stayed sweet and the centre of attention.

"Now you've let us know about your connection to Helga, I think we can feel safe in showing you something," said Hermione, her pulse beginning to race slightly.

"That _does _sound intriguing," said Hepzibah, as she jiffled her enormous frame in her armchair.

Ginny felt her chest tighten a fraction, also now aware to how close they were to action.

Hermione held her wand poised over her beaded bag. "It almost certainly belonged to Helga herself," she said. "It was amongst Gin's old late aunt's things, when the house was cleared a few years ago." She used "_Accio Cup" _and the little golden Cup flew up into Hermione's hand.

Hepzibah became alert, her massive bulk slumping forwards with her like a tidal wave, as she spotted the object. "It can't be? It's not possible?"

"What isn't?" asked Ginny innocently.

"That cup!" Hepzibah squinted at it as Hermione held it. "Hokey? Hokey, go and fetch the Cup!"

_Shit, it's coming, _thought Hermione.

_Buggering bollocks!_ thought Ginny, _this is it...it's happening!_

"Might I have a closer look?" asked the old woman.

"Of course," said Hermione, as she levitated it over to Hepzibah.

"I thought there was only one!" the older woman exclaimed. "And I thought _I_ had it!"

"So, are you saying you have one similar?" Ginny asked vaguely, although inside she was nearly shaking with anticipation, and desperate not to show it.

"Yes, you'll see. Hokey, where is my Cup?" Moments later the little old elf staggered into the room with the box holding the cup. "Let them see it then!"

Hokey gave the Cup to Ginny. "Wow, it's identical!"

"It is!" exclaimed Helga. "And you say yours was in an old aunt's belongings?"

"Yeah," replied Ginny. "Where she got it from, I have no idea."

"A pair?" said the still bewildered and shocked Hepzibah, as her plump hands caressed the fake Cup. "I mean to say, a PAIR?"

"I hope we haven't upset you?" asked Hermione. "We had no idea you owned one too. We just thought a real descendant of Helga would like to see it."

"A pair?" the old woman kept muttering. "My goodness to think of it...a pair? Would you sell it to me?"

"I'm sorry, no," said Hermione. _What did she say about not selling items off? She obviously forgets such things when she wants something herself!_ "As you know yourself, to own a piece belonging to a founder of Hogwarts, one of the greatest wizards or witches of their Age, it's too special to sell. Just to own it is an honour and not something to take lightly, at any cost."

"Yes, yes, I understand," said Hepzibah, a definite sadness and sense of disappointment in her voice. "Still, I'm thrilled you showed it to me, I'm very pleased to have seen it."

_We're going to have to do this soon, _thought Hermione, _Ginny better be ready._

_We get the fake back, _thought Ginny, _then the elf will take the real one away...we really need the real Cup with the elf still in the room._

Surprising Hermione only a little, Ginny took the lead. "We'll soon have to be on our way again," the redhead said, almost sighing.

"So soon?" asked Hepzibah, still holding the fake Cup greedily.

"Unfortunately we signed up to work with the muggles for their war, we've got to move on again, later today," replied Hermione.

"The way I hear it, that war is over?" offered the stout woman.

"We still have things to clear up, paperwork, or some useless thing they'll find for us to do," sighed Hermione.

"Borgin mentioned your work for the muggles in one of his letters, I wouldn't have bothered myself, but there, I'm not as young as I used to be. I wouldn't be much use in uniform," chuckled the old woman.

_I don't know, _thought Hermione, _they could have used you as a barrage balloon above London!_

"Well, you'll be wanting your Cup back, won't you?" asked Hepzibah, reluctantly. "Are you sure I can't buy it from you?"

"Sorry. We'd love to say yes, but it means so much to us," said Ginny, readying herself.

Hermione handed the real Cup back to Hokey, as Ginny received the fake one back from Hepzibah and put it into the beaded bag. It was then, just as the elf was putting the Cup back into its box, that Ginny made a point of looking out of a window, and Hermione could sense the action as if she had second-sight. "It's very foggy today," said Ginny, casually.

_"Imperio!"_

_"Imperio!"_

As planned, Ginny cursed Hepzibah and Hermione got to Hokey. As luck would have it, Hepzibah had fractionally turned to look to the window, and Hokey was turned to pack the Cup in the box. If any memories were ever retrieved, deliberately or inadvertently, then there would be no trace that any wand had been used against the pair, because they'd been looking away, and the curses were almost silent.

Straight away, the two young women sent their victims to sleep, with their eyes shut, making no sudden movements. The old lady's face had turned and had sunk into her chins and the elf swayed on the spot.

"That bit went well," said Ginny, wiping a small bead of sweat from her forehead. "Now let's switch this bugger!" She retrieved the fake Cup from their bag and put it onto the coffee table.

Hermione opened the box containing the real Cup and immediately put that one into her beaded bag. Then Ginny handed her the fake Cup and Hermione fitted it into the box.

"What were we doing just before the curses?" asked Hermione, concerned. "I don't remember, exactly...I was concentrating so hard on making sure I cursed Hokey properly...and then getting these things swapped?"

"I was looking out the window and you were looking at the elf; not that different to when we actually cast the spell," said Ginny, calmly. Then she gave Hermione a warm smile. "Everything's under control!"

"Right, ready to go back?"

"Let's get this finished!" said Ginny. Together and almost silently, they lifted the _imperius _curses.

"What was I saying?" muttered Hepzibah, awake again, swivelling her head round.

Ginny still looked out the window, casually, as if they hadn't just done what they had. "We were talking about how foggy it was today."

"That's right, we were. I like it. Adds atmosphere! Makes it feel like the old days!" said Hepzibah.

Hokey the elf, wobbled slightly as she lifted the box containing the now fake Cup, to carry it away again. But, there was nothing odd about a doddery old elf wobbling while carrying an object.

"Well, it has truly been marvellous to meet you," said Hermione rising to her feet. "A descendant of Helga too! Thank you so much for agreeing to see us."

"It was a pleasure, my dears," the old woman said. "It makes me sad that I don't have my own descendants to pass my things along to, just some greedy fringe relatives. Mind you, some offspring can be terrible, you can never know how children will turn out. But at least there's still young blood, like you two sweet girls, determined to save our magical heritage."

"Oh, and of course, we won't breathe a word about our visit," said Ginny. "Or what you have shown us. As I'm sure you won't say anything about us."

"No fear on that account," said Hepzibah. "It's a tough and sometimes dangerous world we have to inhabit on our quest for magical antiques. That's why I hesitated and had to have some assurance from Borgin before I agreed to our meeting."

_Ah yes, _thought Hermione wryly, _and we all know how far we can trust Borgin!_

"You _will_ visit again, won't you?" asked Hepzibah.

"If you'd like us to?" replied Ginny.

"I've enjoyed this so much," said the old lady. "At my age, I don't get to see many people and certainly not trustworthy ones with my interests."

"If we have the time, or are in the area, we'll try to drop by," said Ginny, feeling both the urge to gag from the sickly sweetness of it all, but also a little ashamed of the lies too.

"Bring some more of your collection to show me," said Hepzibah. "I'd love to see some."

"Okay," said Hermione, as she went over to the woman and shook a rather podgy, sweaty hand. Ginny did the same.

It was obvious that Hepzibah rarely moved from her chair, when she called for her elf again. "Hokey, see our guests out, there's a good elf."

Ginny could almost feel her legs shake, the events catching up with her, and Hermione's heart was still beating faster than normal. They didn't know it yet, but they'd been at the house for over two hours, and tiredness was inevitable.

"Goodbye!" they both waved to the old lady, as they went into the hallway again, following the elf. Even now, Ginny was still making sure to see what Hokey was doing and that she was not about to turn on them. Ginny didn't think it was likely, but it didn't hurt to be alert.

Hokey opened the door and they calmly walked out the front door, down the garden path, through the gate, back into the fog and a few yards back down the street...it was then they allowed themselves to really breathe.

"Are you sure you didn't have some Felix Felicis?" asked Ginny. "That went better than planned!"

"Nope, it was just us working the magic." Then Hermione sighed, as they continued walking.

"What?"

"It was sad," replied Hermione, thinking guiltily about some of the thoughts she'd had in the house. "She's a bit of an old windbag, but it's terribly sad. She's lonely. She's basically only got Borgin & Burkes' friendship because of her money. No family, not any that care about her anyway. It really is a tragedy. And to end up as another of You Know Who's victims...so sad."

Ginny thought of some of the throw-away comments she'd had in her mind about Hepzibah, but in truth, she too felt sad for her now. She was disconcerted to find she felt more sympathy for their host today, than she ever had for Auntie Muriel. "We can't do anything about it. But at least we got our...work done, with minimal pain to anyone."

"Yes," said Hermione. "Were you feeling okay in there? I looked at you a couple of times and you looked really pale?"

"I didn't know that. I will admit I was worried about my dream and why Harry named the elf," said Ginny, tiredly. "It played on my mind that Hokey might be tricky or be the danger we underestimated."

"From early on, I could tell she wasn't a threat to us. I _wondered_ if that was what you were thinking about. I wish I could have somehow told you it was okay and saved you some stress."

"Nevermind, it's done with," said Ginny, still feeling relief. "It's a shame we won't be using the tent. Are we going back to those hedges now?"

"I thought it was well hidden, so we can Apparate back to the House," said Hermione.

"I'm really tired, now," said Ginny, feeling the stress of the morning hit her.

"We can take a nap when we get back," said Hermione, as she linked her arm through Ginny's. "You were brilliant again today, even with all that stress. It's like we're completely tuned in to each other. You took action just as I was thinking about it."

"It felt the same for me," said Ginny. "And you were as brilliant as ever."

"Not far now," said Hermione, as they both tiredly walked down the road, taking the turning to reach the field with the hedges. The fog was definitely less at this end of the village.

"Hermione," said Ginny. "Let's Disapparate together, then if we both get sleepy we'll end up in the same ditch, at least!"

Hermione gave a little laugh in response, as they neared the hedges. There wasn't anyone in sight, not so much as a cow, sheep or chicken, so they didn't make a small Apparating journey into the field and Disapparated on the spot to the back garden of Dumbledore's house in Godric's Hollow.

"Oh god!" said Ginny suddenly, as they stood in the safe familiar garden again.

"What?" asked a nervous Hermione, worried that Ginny had got a little splinched or something.

"We've got to talk to Mrs. Fussy-Pants again!"

Laughing, Hermione and Ginny made their way into the house, ready to contact Dumbledore once more, via his waspish mother's portrait.

**A/N: A little disclaimer to this chapter. There might be some people that take offence to my 'overweight' jokes/comments. I always think if you can't laugh at yourself then nothing is funny. I'm definitely not as overweight as Hepzibah, but I'm a six footer with curves...ie: human! I also personally like women with a bit of flesh on them. But the fact is, if you're bigger than the norm, taller or wider, or different from the average in any way, the comments and thoughts will always be there from others...a fact of life. It doesn't make it right, but it won't ever change much. So use it and own it first, before others can use it against you! I made myself smile writing this, so I'm hoping the readers out there will smile too.**


	52. Relax

**A/N: I suppose this chapter could be seen as a linking or preparation chapter. It was also the correct placement for a particular dream...which is another one of those that could almost be a one-shot. :)**

52: Relax

Hermione and Ginny made their way to the back door and scullery of Dumbledore's house and knocked before entering. With her usual magical etiquette Hermione used the _homenum revelio _spell, to check they were the only ones in the house.

"I'd say that Dumbledore rarely comes to the house, and Aberforth has hardly ever been mentioned," observed Hermione. "It's just not the kind of thing I feel happy to ask about."

"At least we still check, then we won't get caught unawares," said Ginny.

"I think I'll get a cup of tea on the go," said Hermione, as she made her way to the range stove. "There's no telling how long Kendra will keep us."

A short time later, with mugs of tea in hand, Hermione and Ginny made the familiar trek upstairs to the third bedroom.

"Mrs. Dumbledore?" called Ginny. "Can we talk to you please?" As usual, no immediate hint of movement was detected.

Ginny had to laugh when she heard the brunette mutter, " Bugger this!" under her breath, before approaching the empty portrait of the high-backed chair up close. "We have some very important news and Professor Dumbledore wanted to know about our return as soon as possible!"

It seemed to do the trick as the austere middle-aged woman rustled her skirts into view. "Oh, it's you two!" Kendra said.

"Yes," said Ginny, avoiding gritting her teeth by a mere whisker, and avoiding letting slip, _'Who else would we bloody be?'_

"Professor Dumbledore wanted to know of our return, if you could please tell him," said Hermione, almost matching Kendra for haughtiness. "And we'd like a reply to know when he'll next visit."

Kendra studied the two young women as she always did, but instead of being obstinate and awkward, she gave what could have been a sigh, inclined her head and walked out of the portrait; not before both girls heard a muttered, "I might as well have a letter tied to my leg! What has my life become?..."

Hermione looked to Ginny and both gave a laugh. "Sounds like her son might have told her off recently?" she whispered. "That was so much easier than last time."

"Either sonny boy has spoken to her, or she's got trapped wind!" Ginny giggled, with a yawn following it. "I'm still tired."

"I am too," admittted Hermione. "We've been at this task for days. Although on the face of it, it appeared easy, it was the sheer amount of time, the things we had to plan and go through...fiddly things. Thinking on it, if Hepzibah had been difficult I'm not sure just how far our energy would have stretched."

"How many days were we on this, then?" considered Ginny, as she sat and sipped from her mug of tea.

"Let's see," Hermione said, setting her mug down on a desk and using her fingers to count the days. "We arrived in 1945 on the evening of the 1st May...a Tuesday. A day here, Cauldron...Borgin, and again...hmm...it's Monday 7th May today."

"We've been in 1945 almost a week?"

"That's surprised me too!"

"So altogether we've been away from...Hogwarts, _our_ Hogwarts, for...," Ginny thought it through. "About seventeen or eighteen days?"

"Give or take a few hours or half days. I'm not sure exactly, because we've hopped about a bit."

"I know that sounds a long time, but it feels even longer...months."

"It does," said Hermione, as she finished her tea.

To their surprise, Mrs. Dumbledore walked back into her portrait, not making them wait long at all. "Miss Granger, Miss Weasley, my son will be able to see you tomorrow lunch time, 12.30pm."

"Thank you," replied Hermione.

"He said to remind you to enjoy his house and relax," added Kendra, before she quietly walked out of the frame again.

"That was short and sweet," said Ginny.

"Perhaps her son _has_ told her not to be so bossy to us after all?" suggested Hermione. "It's unusual for Dumbledore to visit at lunch time, too."

"Maybe that was his only free time tomorrow, or he has a free period before or after lunch?"

"True. He might also like to keep others guessing for when he is and isn't on the Hogwarts' grounds." Hermione thought no more on it, and looking at her watch she saw it was approaching 1.30pm. "Let's have some lunch, shall we?" she said, standing up.

Ginny smiled, stood up and wrapped her arms around Hermione, placing a kiss on her lips before hugging her tight. "Another task complete," she said, as she held onto the brunette. "Another task we completed together."

Hermione pulled back slightly, with a beaming smile, "I think we're capable of anything when we're together," she said, as she gave Ginny a kiss back.

They went down to the kitchen and were not at all surprised to find fresh food from Hogwarts, awaiting them in the pantry. With minimal preparation they sat down to roast chicken, with roast potatoes and vegetables, all finished off with a butterbeer.

"I was thinking that the rest of the afternoon we should do a check through of our bags again," suggested Hermione, as they finished putting away the plates and cutlery from lunch. "Check on our purchases and most importantly the Ring and Cup. If you're not too tired?"

"We might as well," answered Ginny. "There's nothing else we have to do...yet."

"I imagine some of our clothing could do with a few cleaning spells and a general tidy up."

The rest of the afternoon and early evening, the two young women went through a now familiar routine of checking their possessions, sat on the floor of the sitting room. They had a little pile of important items to one side, which contained all their purchases from Borgin & Burkes, as well as the Ring and the Cup and the purses with the remaining galleons that Dumbledore had given them. A pile next to it, held the WAAF uniforms, with a small heap of their paperwork and their 1940s muggle money.

"I really hope we've seen the last of these awful bloody things!" said Ginny, as she twirled her pudding-like WAAF hat on a finger.

"Me too," agreed Hermione, as she dumped the WAAF trousers and skirts onto the pile. "It's nearly the end of the war here, so I highly doubt we'll need them again."

There was a pile of their own clothing, as well as the oddments of Ron's they had transfigured. Ginny picked up the T'Shirt and shirt which had been Harry's and although she felt a definite twinge of some unknown emotion, it was no longer despair or longing, it was already acceptance. She looked over to Hermione, and she knew that all she wanted was in the room with her, and at that moment moving the bag with the tent, back into her beaded bag. _Hermione, _thought Ginny, _she's all I need...and could that sound any more corny?_

"What are you thinking?" asked Hermione, as she'd seen Ginny stare at her as she held Harry's clothing.

"I'm...I'm very happy with you," Ginny said, feeling a little daft. "I'm sorry I can't describe it properly."

Hermione shuffled over to Ginny and embraced her. "I'm happy with you too," she said, then kissed the redhead softly. She'd wondered if Ginny had been thinking of Harry and what that might be, but she'd seen the truth of how the girl felt when she spoke. They were together, and what they had been through had only cemented the bond between them.

They packed away most of their ordinary clothing, all cleaned, and only left out a few items they thought they might wear tomorrow, along with some sleepwear. Leaving the WAAF items in a neater pile, which they were going to place back in the wardrobe upstairs later, certain and hopeful that they wouldn't be needed again, it just left their purchases and the main two items in their pre-horcrux, harmless state.

Not overly hungry, Ginny and Hermione had a light supper, and not wanting to let their precious items out of their sight, they went upstairs with everything in hand. Both decided they would each take a bath before settling down for the night.

When Ginny passed a freshly bathed Hermione she could smell the red cherry bubblebath again, and laughed. Hermione gave a little groan of 'not again', but Ginny hugged her, taking a deep sniff. "I love how that smells on you," said the redhead.

"You love making fun of me, more like!"

"Only a little," said Ginny. "I mostly love the smell. It will always make me think of you when I smell cherries or cherry blossom."

Hermione felt a little shy for some reason, but embraced Ginny back. "I'll have to see if he has any other bottles hanging around, I'm nearly out of it," she giggled.

"I'm sure we can find some similar. Anyway, I'll go take my bath now," said Ginny.

"Good, then I can sniff you, when you get back!" said Hermione, which made them both nearly collapse with laughter.

Some time later, Ginny slid into the comfortable bed next to Hermione and they both felt amazingly relaxed. Until that moment they hadn't realized just how much tension they'd been living with, when staying at The Leaky Cauldron.

Almost immediately they turned to one another and enjoyed several gentle kisses. Soft probing tongues meeting, not duelling, just feeling for its playmate. Hands tenderly holding peach-soft cheeks, and sliding into silky freshly-washed hair. Caressing fingers and palms sliding down to rest and stroke against the swell of breasts and the peaks of aroused nipples through material. Breathing steady, but with the slight shudder of passion stirring. And all the time, a depth of emotion and trust was felt by both.

Ginny moved so she was hovering over the brunette now, and put her hand down to the hem of Hermione's T'Shirt, moving the material up, never knowing how she would ever get used to the beautiful sight of the girl's breasts. She lowered her head and pressed feathery kisses all over Hermione's chest; little nibbles and licks, all coming naturally to her. Holding one breast, she took the other's pert nipple into her mouth, rolling her tongue gently over it, savouring the taste that was Hermione and the cherry intoxication she would always remember.

Hermione writhed very slightly, feeling alive and never more tuned in or turned on to the way her body was feeling. She threaded her hands into the red locks fanned out before her, letting out small sighs and moans of pleasure. After a time she had an incredibly strong urge to let Ginny feel what she had, and she stilled the redhead's actions, bringing the girl back up to her lips; letting her know she'd done nothing wrong and she only wanted some time giving Ginny some pleasure too.

They changed positions and Hermione hovered over and uncovered Ginny's torso below her, worshipping the bare flesh before her. Lips to lips, lips to neck, to chest, to nipples, fingers and palms to the same places. _How on earth could I want Ron? _she thought, _when I'm feeling this! _Hermione chased the thought away again, but tonight only reaffirmed what she knew already; she and Ginny were together and it felt right.

Loving how Ginny's chest shuddered when she sucked on a nipple, Hermione was close to laughing, and that only seemed to make Ginny want to laugh too, which set off more sensations, and the redhead would sigh and gasp a little again.

Still not wanting to rush things or get too deep, they slowly and naturally ended their kissing and caressing session. Just holding each other, and pressing kisses to cheeks, lips and necks, was enough to feel impossibly close. Both felt nearly as sated as if they _had_ gone further...or imagined how it would feel had they done so. The exhaustion and subconscious pressure of the past few days had ebbed away, and it left both young women feeling tired, but content and stronger.

After they settled, cuddled up close, Ginny finally spoke, "I suppose this is it, now?"

"It?" asked Hermione, not sure as to which part of their current situation Ginny was referring to. _Was she expecting us to do more? Tonight?I'm not sure I can deal with more yet... Or...or is she talking about the tasks? _she thought.

"We'll go back to the Battle at Hogwarts," Ginny said, quietly. "I think that's why Dumbledore made sure his mother told us to relax and enjoy his house. I think it was going to be the case whether we got the Cup or not...which he doesn't know about yet."

"Hmm, it might be," sighed Hermione, then added more adamantly, "Well, logically it has to be. We've been out of our correct timeline a long while, every day away is dangerous to the fabric of time. Hopefully we'll get the instructions or reasons for getting the Ring and Cup and back we'll go to that blown up Headmaster's Office."

"Yeah, we'll be straight back into the thick of it," said Ginny, a little glumly. "We'll have to be ready with a _Protego _charm straight away."

"I was thinking of that too. If we've got to take the two items somewhere when we arrive, then it's going to be tough even getting out of that Office!"

"Well," sighed Ginny. "Look what we've achieved so far. We'll think of something."

Hermione smiled and held herself closer to Ginny, almost feeling the strength and courage radiate off the girl and into her very being. "Ginny, we might have to go off separately, depending on the circumstances when we get back, and what's happening in the action."

"It might happen, I know that. But we'll do what we have to. Just try to take care of yourself. I'll do the same, because...,"

"Because?"

"I mean every word, Hermione," said Ginny, in a quiet and croaky voice. "When we get back I want to try to be with you...properly. I know it'll be hard, and we can't be all over each other straight away...my brother being one problem, but if we make it through...I'll still be there for you."

Hermione felt a tear roll from the corner of her eye, onto the pillow. She held Ginny tight to her, then turned a little to kiss her lips. "We'll do all we can to make it happen. I promise you." She kissed her again. "We've been through so much together, to let it go. If we survive, if...well...I'll be there for you too."

They held each other, with silent tears; not sad for themselves, not sad for the world, not feeling pity particularly, just knowing how momentous their bond was and what they might yet be capable of. There was power between them and within them.

Not unduly disturbed by their thoughts, they drifted off to sleep and Hermione entered a dream..._zzzzzzz_

It was night time and she was aware she was walking the grounds at Hogwarts. The dream-Hermione seemed to know where she was going, even if the real one dreaming it wasn't as sure. Everywhere was still and reasonably quiet, except for the regular wildlife from both the ordinary and magical worlds. There wasn't a feeling of threat or looming danger, and Hermione kept on walking.

After a short time, Hermione realized that she was making her way to the quidditch pitch. _Why am I going there at night? _she thought.

On reaching the changing rooms, she simply walked through the unlocked door and was immediately grabbed by something or someone from the darkness within.

"Arggghh!" she tried to shout in surprise, but was muffled by a hand around her face. She felt panic and was wondering how to get to her wand and escape her attacker in one swift and successful move.

Hermione's movements and thoughts ceased, however, when she heard a breathy giggle. A familiar girl's breathy giggle. "Who is it?" she said, as the hand dropped from her face and she spun to face the person in the shadows.

"Who do you _think_ it is?" the girl whispered, very amused. "Unless you've started meeting other women here at night? Is there something I should know about?"

_Ginny? _Hermione thought, _well, obviously! Why am I so slow in these dreams? _

Arms wrapped around her as she was led to a bench, and small kisses were pressed to her cheeks and neck. "I've been thinking about this all day," said Ginny.

"You have?"

"You _know_ I have."

Hermione found Ginny's lips with her own, the whole situation firing her with passion and want. _This is sexy, to be meeting her here at night, _she thought, _and very risky. __**Don't ruin it! **_her conscience chided her.

Hands tugged at clothing, with Ginny flicking her wand to strip them both of their shirts and bras, almost immediately embracing again to feel their flesh against one another. Putting some towels on the floor, they moved down to lie there.

"You feel so good," Hermione managed to utter.

"You too."

The real Hermione was greatly enjoying the heat and action of her dream. Lips, tongues and hands grabbing, caressing and kissing each other.

"I want you, Hermione," Ginny moaned. "I really want you." With that said, Ginny flicked her wand again and her lower clothing left her body too, as she then reached for Hermione's hand and placed it between her legs.

Hermione could feel the wetness there, making herself want to squirm, only able to imagine how her sleeping body was reacting to the dream. She didn't back away from the dream, she wanted to experience it, and moved her fingers along and inside of Ginny's nether lips, before gently entering the redhead.

Ginny moaned loudly, and thrust her hips against Hermione's hand; it made the brunette feel incredible. She decided there and then, to reach for her own wand, and removed her own lower clothing. Noticing the change, Ginny slid her hand down to Hermione's mound.

They began a rhythm, which came to them as naturally and as instinctually as could be. Hips rocking against questing hands, lips kissing on bare skin, a feeling of burning, tightening delight, low down in their bodies and then...the door burst open.

"What the bloody hell is this?" shouted an angry voice, waving the light of their wand, training it on to the two naked women.

Hermione scrabbled around for a piece of clothing or towel to cover herself, more worried about her modesty than whom the intruder was, for the moment. When she looked up and saw it was Ron, her heart lurched.

"Ron!" shouted Ginny. "Piss off!"

"Piss off? You're fucking my girlfriend and _I'm_ the one being told to go and do one?" he shouted back.

The dream-Hermione seemed stunned and unable to speak, and the real one watching her dream was equally stunned. She thought she'd feel embarrassed, if Ron found her and Ginny in real life..._Okay, more like mortified shock followed by a trip to South America for a few months, _she thought as she dreamed. However, in this dream, she didn't feel embarrassed, she felt shock from being found, but not by the particular person standing there. She felt a little bad for him in her heart, but not the deep hurt she expected.

The whole time the dream was paused in this strange set of events, Hermione kept glancing to Ginny. _She's really who I want, _she thought, _and Ron can shout, swear, bluster on and try to make things as bad for me as he likes, but having Ginny in my life makes it all possible. It will be tough in real life, but together we're stronger. _

"Ron," said Hermione. "I'm not your girlfriend."

"What?" he shouted. "We kissed...after all those years, all that danger, all those times we faced death together? Of course you're my girlfriend! We...we kissed for crying out loud!"

"A kiss or two doesn't mean we're contracted to each other," said Hermione, as she seemed to calmly put her clothes back on, taking no notice of the turmoil in Ron, as he watched who he thought was his girlfriend, but now wasn't, covering up her nakedness in front of him.

"But we were meant to be together?" he tried. "Everyone said it, even Harry, even Mum?"

"Every Death Eater says mudbloods are scum, it doesn't make them right, does it?" said Hermione plainly.

"But, Ginny?" he said, only just managing to say his sister's name without nearly spitting it. "Why her?"

"Would you prefer it if she slept with Harry?" asked Ginny, drily.

"You keep out of it! It's none of your business!" Ron shouted to his sister

"No, Ron. She's my girlfriend, it _is_ her business," Hermione sighed. "I'm sorry, Ron, truly I am, but what I feel for her, is deeper than what I've felt for you. Ginny and I have been through so much together, and we realized we were meant to be together."

"NO!" Ron shouted, defiantly. "NO!"

"Ron, I'm in love with Ginny...,"

Ginny went serious, "And I'm in love with her...,"..._zzzzzzz_

Hermione suddenly woke up, with a little grunt. She was a bit disturbed by her dream, in many ways. Firstly she felt an ache between her legs from the sex she'd dreamed of with Ginny, then she was confused over how she felt about Ron finding them, but the biggest feeling was from the last moments of the dream.

The moment she'd told Ron that Ginny was her girlfriend and that she was inlove with her, and the redhead had echoed her, she felt different. Her chest tightened and fluttered, and her body felt light, as if she floated above the bed rather than lying in it. _I think I've truly acknowledged it, _she thought, _I've never been more sure of myself. I think I've mentally accepted that I love her, _really _love her. I think this is what Tonks and Fred wanted me to feel. To see the difference between what I felt for Ron and what I feel for Ginny, in that potentially bad situation...it's resulted that I know my feelings for Ginny _are _deeper and more important to me. What I felt for Ron was a shadow in comparison._

"All right, Hermione?" asked Ginny, who had felt her stir awake.

"Yes, just an odd dream, nothing bad." Hermione decided to tell her a shortened version of the dream for the sexy bit, and for the awkward Ron moment, but she glossed over all the deeper meanings. _I won't pressure her to think like that, _she thought, _I'm pretty sure she's feeling something deeper for me, but she needs to find it for herself. I'm patient, I'll wait._

As Hermione predicted, Ginny enjoyed the dream, and the idea of managing to lure Hermione out after dark, for a night of passion in the quidditch changing rooms. They had several laughs over the choice of meeting place.

"Why there?" asked Ginny. "It always smells of feet, and there's no beds or sofas."

"I suppose we thought no one would think to look there."

"So how on earth did Ron find us?"

"It's a dream," said Hermione. "Anything can happen. I wouldn't put it past him to follow me in real life, wondering if I'm on some mission he doesn't know about, so maybe he did in the dream?"

"Hmm," answered Ginny, in thought, followed closely by another, "Hmm."

"What?"

"I think you've answered again, why you never even told him about your conversation with McGonagall and Flitwick."

"Really?"

"It's like you knew, that even if you told him, he'd still think you weren't telling him the whole truth. Then he'd get grumpy and so on, and keep trying to push you for other information he thought you had and were hiding," said Ginny.

"You know, I think you're right," replied Hermione, seeing the situation from that angle. "He was a bit like that when we were on the run...the three of us. It didn't help that we had little food and then got lumbered with taking turns wearing that horrible horcrux Locket, but he was the worst to deal with. He even thought Harry and I were getting together."

"_Did_ he? What gave him that idea?"

Hermione had felt Ginny tense slightly. "No, Harry and I never felt anything like that for each other, I promise you. It was always a brother-sister thing. But Ron's heightened horcrux-enduced paranoia somehow made him think we were carrying on behind his back!"

"My brother was never the most rational," sighed Ginny.

"He can be brilliant at times, when he applies himself," said Hermione. "But so difficult to work with, to discuss things with. Many times I felt so alone, even when they were both there. There was Harry brooding more than ever, and understandably so, but I couldn't talk to Ron either. He was gloomy and brooding too. And yet both of them kept expecting me to find the answers."

"It must have been so tough," said Ginny, as she nuzzled into Hermione, trying to convey some comfort.

"Yeah. And it all seems a world away now...which I suppose it is. An Age ago."

After a short silence, Ginny finally said, "Sometimes you can't hide from fate, but despite all the pain, I've found _you_...got closer to you. And if that's the payment I get for all the suffering, then I still consider myself lucky."

With watery eyes, Hermione turned and kissed Ginny on the lips, unable to speak and only able to kiss her emotions to the younger woman.

"See you in the morning," said Ginny, keeping her body close up to the brunette. "Let's hope for no more dreams...however kinky," she chuckled.

"Night," replied Hermione. _Night, my love, _she thought with contentment.


	53. What Now?

**A/N: I imagine the title to this chapter is what some of you will be saying as you read it. :) And after you've said "What Now?" you'll reach the end of the chapter and probably go..."Argh, why did it stop there?" (Or you might say "That's a load of crap I'm not coming back!" LOL)**

**I hope to keep updates going at least once a week...there's a few things taking my time up at the moment(including writing new material...I'm a lot of chapters ahead of this one). So any glaring mistakes, typos etc might be missed as I'm having to check through a bit faster than normal. **

53: What Now?

The morning had been very normal, as normal as things got for Ginny and Hermione these days. They almost felt like they had _always_ lived in the house at Godric's Hollow, had _always_ gone through the morning routines and had breakfast together. It was a feeling of immense ease and comfort with each other's company.

Hermione and Ginny were very aware that they would soon have to go back to Hogwarts, it seemed inevitable; it would be going back to more pain and drama, but neither felt unduly frightened or apprehensive. They knew from the very start, that they were to go back, if they survived the challenges of the 1940s, so it wasn't a completely alien notion. They couldn't stay in 1945 and wish the world away, so there was no point getting upset over something they both knew had to happen.

Assuming they would no longer require their WAAF uniforms, Hermione and Ginny placed them back into the wardrobe that morning, where it had felt so long ago that they'd first tried them on. A few odd jobs later and they found themselves in the kitchen with a pot of tea brewing, waiting for the arrival of Dumbledore. As was his usual punctuality, the Professor walked through into the kitchen just after their agreed 12.30pm meeting.

"Hello!" he said. "It's good to see you both. You're well?"

"Yes, very much so," replied Hermione.

"The same as usual, sir?" inquired Ginny, pointing at the tea pot.

"Thank you."

The same familiar walk through to the sitting room, with the usual cups of tea was strangely comforting too. It had become a feeling of a favourite uncle coming to visit.

After Dumbledore settled into his usual armchair, with the two girls seated on the sofa, they all took a prerequisite sip of hot tea, all knowing they were thinking of where to start the conversation. As usual...again...they let the Professor take the lead.

"So," he said. "The first question is, do you have the real Cup?"

"Yes!" both Ginny and Hermione answered, at the same time.

"Wonderful!" Dumbledore said, with a genuine smile. "Might I ask you to indulge an old wizard and hear how you accomplished this? You visited Borgin & Burkes, yes?"

Hermione told him the story of their stay at The Leaky Cauldron, all the while trying to push aside the memories of kissing and holding Ginny, for fear of blushing or stumbling on something she'd rather keep private. She spoke of the multiple buying trips to the shop, though.

"I would like to have a look at those items later," the Professor said, interested in their purchases. "But it sounds like you had success right from the start. Borgin seems to have been enamoured by you."

"He wasn't the only one," said Hermione. "One day at the shop, the Saturday, might have ruined everything."

"What happened?" asked the wizard.

"We came face to face with Professor Slughorn and You Know Who," said Ginny, without being able to stop a little shiver.

"Merlin's shaggy beard!" exclaimed Dumbledore. "I had no idea your paths would cross, I didn't think he'd take Tom there until nearly the summer holidays! Did he see your faces? Did you talk with Horace? You have to remember exactly what you think he saw or what you said? It's important!"

This was the most agitated either of the women had ever seen Albus Dumbledore, who was always the picture of calm disposition in the face of the unexpected, usually.

"We were lucky," said Hermione. "We were able to use a quick glamour to hide our faces, and the small talk was only that. It chilled us to the bone though...especially for Ginny. That was the You Know Who she met in his Diary horcrux."

"And you're sure they didn't see your true faces?" the wizard still asked.

"We're sure," said Ginny. "We both knew how dangerous it might be if they _had_ seen our real faces...dangerous for back in our own time. We didn't ask you, because it slipped our minds, but we changed our names for The Leaky Cauldron and the shop, before we left here too."

"Oh?" Dumbledore asked, still deeply concerned by the turn of events he'd just been told about.

"We thought that Massey, you know, The Hanged Man landlord, might have mentioned our names to You Know Who," explained Ginny. "And we didn't want to risk anyone feeling our names were familiar. As it turns out, I wouldn't trust Borgin to keep our names secret, so it's just as well we changed them. Even when You Know Who gets to work there, the names will mean nothing."

"Do you realize, you have just out-thought myself?" Dumbledore said, then smiled. "I never considered what you devised. It is terrible of me, and will teach me to think clearer in future. I do hope you know how vital your actions have been...just by changing your names? By having the presence of mind to conceal yourselves?"

"We thought it might be an issue, that's all," said a modest Hermione, not quite believing that they'd thought of something Dumbledore had missed. _I wonder what happened to Massey? And whether he _did _tell You Know Who everything? _thought Hermione, _I don't think this Dumbledore would tell us, even if I asked...I can try. _"Sir, do you know what happened to Massey? After he went missing in 1943?"

"I have my suspicions," the Professor said, before pausing, making the two women wonder if he was going to say anything else. "I could find no trace of him anywhere. But I've heard from certain contacts that the Ministry kept a close eye on Little Hangleton after the Riddles were murdered, and the story told by Massey's wife was that he ran off with some woman, as you told me the rumour had been, but that he had gone to London with her and died in a night of bombing. No body was found, which isn't unusual in those circumstances. How or where the wife came up with this story I do not know...perhaps a Ministry official posed as a policeman to inform her, suspecting things from the little I was able to safely tell them; I'm not sure we'll ever know. However, I believe, sadly, that Riddle murdered him, either that same day by some means, or the weekend that followed, maybe in Hogsmeade or further away."

"Oh," said Hermione, unable to think of anything to answer with. She didn't feel any sympathy for Massey whatsoever.

"Anyway, whatever happened it's been done. As has your brilliant forward thinking to change your names. Tell me of your meeting with Hepzibah," the wizard said, very much more calmly.

Between them, Ginny and Hermione relayed their meeting with Hepzibah Smith, and how they'd felt sad for her in the end. When it came to the swapping part of the plan, Hermione stopped.

"We...," the brunette halted.

"Yes?" asked an eager Dumbledore.

"We have a confession, Professor," said Hermione. "We used the _Imperius _curse. I used it on the house-elf and Ginny used it on Hepzibah."

When they had planned their methods before going to Welches Dam, the _Imperius_ curse had seemed so simple, so tame and harmless, but sitting here with a wizard she respected so much, Hermione felt awful. Ginny had also begun to feel uncomfortable about it too. Where they had felt so attuned to each other and to their task, they now didn't feel so proud of themselves.

"We're sorry, sir," said Ginny. "We know it's an Unforgivable Curse, but we didn't know how else to do it. I know it sounds like we're trying to justify it...a thing that can't be justified, but we meant them no harm. It was just to send them to sleep for a few moments...,"

"It's exactly as Ginny said," Hermione added. "It seemed the safest, quickest and most harmless way we could do it. But...of course, it was wrong."

Albus Dumbledore studied the two young women for a couple of moments. He wasn't shocked by their confession, he had no anger, he just felt pure and simple pride. "Do not worry," he said, breaking the small silence. "You're not evil, you didn't act for a selfish cause. I'm not going to punish or scold you. You have done nothing wrong."

"But the _Imperius _curse,sir," said Hermione. "That makes us no better than You Know Who and his followers. Using it to be lazy, when they feel like it."

"Don't you see?" the Professor said, in a soft even tone. "You _are_ better! Everything you have just told me, proves it. You knew it felt wrong, but the whole time your motives were not to harm, not to amuse yourselves or to use it for any other means than good. You cared when you used those curses. It meant something for you to even utter those words. No my friends, you have acted with more compassion and care for your actions than most witches and wizards I know."

Another little silence ensued, until Ginny spoke, "Do you need to see the Cup?"

"No, no," replied the wizard. "As much as I would like to, it's sometimes best to leave things I don't need to see or touch, well alone. After all, I know what it looks like from the replica I gave you."

"So," sighed Hermione. "When do we go back to our Hogwarts? I assume that's our next move?"

Dumbledore sipped from his cup of tea. "Yes and no."

Hermione gave a side glance at Ginny, who had turned to her, both showing an expression of 'what now?' or even 'where now?'.

Ignoring the ambiguity of the wizard's answer, for the moment, Hermione decided to question the burning issue, "I'm hoping you can tell us why we had to get the Ring and Cup, and what we've got to do with them now?"

"You have many questions, I know," said Dumbledore, almost sadly. "Of course you do. Brilliant minds like yours would want to know all they can, but...alas, I can not answer them."

"You can't answer them?" asked Ginny, her voice an octave higher in surprise. "Well...what the hell have we been doing? Why? How are we supposed to know what to do with the bloody items?" She quickly seemed to recognize that she'd had an outburst and blushed. "I'm...I'm sorry, sir."

"Don't apologize," he said. "I understand."

"Which is more than we do," said Hermione, in a quiet, cold voice. "I'm sorry too, sir, but we've been through so much, we feel we deserve to know what it's all about. This was supposed to be a plan you devised, how can we believe you sitting there and saying you can't answer our questions? Can't or _won't_?"

Ginny had reached across for Hermione's hand, trying to keep them both calm, when in reality their minds were overwhelmed by a spectrum of emotions.

"I can't answer them," Dumbledore said.

"Can't? But...it's _your_ plan?" Hermione said, in disbelief.

"Remember when you left 1943 to come here? Well the me in 1943 didn't know a great deal, and neither does the me sitting here in front of you now. This whole plan and strategy was the idea of the me residing in Hogwarts, in June 1997." Dumbledore finished the last of his tea.

"Is that where we have to go next?" asked Hermione, very much more subdued.

"Yes," the wizard said. "Sunday 15th June 1997. You will find the answers you need from the me there. I've been very careful over what I can and can't know, so please forgive me if you have felt in the dark, I too have similarly felt it."

"That's the date," said Hermione. "Where do we arrive and what time?"

"You will arrive in the Headmaster's Office, at 10.30pm," replied the wizard.

"Is there a danger that someone might decide to visit your Office then?" asked Hermione.

"In this case, no," Dumbledore answered, evenly. "That evening I'm told I'll be undisposed, or possibly thought to be away, and my Office will be unable to be entered, not even the staircase will be available. No one will know of your arrival or departure and I'm told it will be very safe from intrusion."

_That's more than can be said of it at the Battle, _thought Hermione. Then she thought about Rowena's diadem. "Sir, are we also going back then, to Hogwarts, to look for...mmm...for...," she couldn't finish her sentence, because she felt as though her tongue had been flipped over and tied up.

Ginny looked at Hermione aghast, then found she couldn't say a word either, only her own series of, 'Hmm's'.

"Forgive me for doing that," said Dumbledore. "But I think you were about to tell me something about an object at Hogwarts. I must not know what it is...assuming that you _do _know its identity?"

Hermione felt her tongue come back to her a little. "Um...yes, we know what it is and where."

"That's all I need to know, the most I _must_ know," said Dumbledore with a submissive wave of his hand, to completely relieve the tongue-tied spells he'd used. "For some reason my older self said, that should an object hidden at Hogwarts be mentioned in any way, that I must not know its place or identity. I've no idea why, I just have to trust the other me, like you two."

"Sir?" asked Ginny, desperately hoping she didn't feel her tongue go odd again. "You'll still know us when we first start Hogwarts, won't you? Even though we won't know you?"

"I will, but I can assure you, you will never know that I knew you." He chuckled then. "So do not expect favouritism to come to you...of course you won't know if it did, but I'll promise you I won't set you apart. I always trust to my instincts over difficult situations."

_Blasted instincts again, _thought Ginny.

_Instincts! _thought Hermione, almost amused.

"You'll know the us that were here too?" asked Ginny, deep in thought about the mysteries of time-travel once more. "I know we already know you in 1997, but I mean you'll know us from here, from 1943 too?"

"Yes, I will," Dumbledore said, smiling broadly at the intelligent questions.

"We put the WAAF uniforms back in the wardrobe," said Hermione, very much relaxed again, as they all felt the atmosphere of the room become less tense in the last few minutes.

"You can keep them if you want? A keepsake," the wizard offered. "After all, today is VE Day! Victory in Europe!"

"Um, no thanks!" said Ginny, half smiling.

"Oh well," sighed the Professor.

Next they went through the items they had bought at Borgin & Burkes. The items greatly interested Dumbledore, especially the dagger and the necklace of Andrasta.

"That's a very nice find," he said, as he studied the craftsmanship and hovered his wand over the hare pendant. "I think it possibly has some magical properties, I'm not sure what, though. I've never come across something similar."

"We didn't think it had any properties," answered Hermione. "We thought it was some kind of sales talk from Borgin. It's nice though."

"It does have some mild protective properties, I'm sure," Dumbledore told them.

"Anne Boleyn apparently gave it to someone else before she was executed, maybe she should have worn it that day?" suggested Hermione.

"It wouldn't have helped her," said the wizard. "She wasn't thought to be genuinely magical and she didn't die a magical death. Even so, no necklace or artefact can protect the wearer from ultimate and undisputed death. No, I believe the protection here is for a magically gifted person, to protect against minor magical harm, possibly against something small so the wearer can concentrate on bigger issues. It might deflect something small and annoying, like a Pimple Hex. Which is also why it would have been of no use to Boudica, especially as it's believed that hers was a battle death by very muggle means. I personally don't believe the Roman opinion that she poisoned herself to avoid capture. Romans liked to fall on their own swords when defeated, not Iceni...either way, there was no magical involvement."

"That's interesting," said Hermione, taking in all the information. "Anyway, that necklace, the ring of Elizabeth Woodville and the silver dagger are all we bought, and after we sold all the goods you gave us and had our expenses, we have around two-hundred and fifty galleons left in the purse." She handed over the purse holding the money to Dumbledore.

"Keep them," he said, handing them back, along with their purchases. "You never know, it might come in handy."

"But the gold, is too much," Ginny protested.

"Keep it, and if you succeed in your world, you can buy yourself something. Or at least buy a butterbeer. After all, I thought you might have to spend the lot, so I never expected any back."

A slightly stunned Hermione nodded her thanks, as she took back the items and put them into her bag. "When do we leave for 1997?" she asked.

"It is of course up to you, in some ways," said Dumbledore. "You can stay here a bit longer, although I would advise against leaving the house now, because we don't need to risk any small changes."

"That's what I thought," said Hermione. "We've been out of place for a long time."

"So, you may stay here a few days, or leave in a few minutes, I think you've earned the choice," said Dumbledore.

"I think I'd like to go today," said Ginny.

Hermione thought it over, and after the amount of emotions she'd just been through, she wanted answers now, more than anything. "I agree," she said. "We'll move on, this afternoon, perhaps?" she directed the question to Ginny.

"Fine with me," the redhead answered, also wanting the answers that had been anticipated and ultimately disappointed.

"Well, I must go," said Dumbledore rising to his feet.

They walked through to the kitchen with him, knowing it was for the last time, in this house. It made Ginny and Hermione both feel a certain sadness.

"It has been such a pleasure to meet you and work with you," the wizard said, kindly. "I'm so very proud of you both, and hope people will learn of what you've endured and accomplished, one day."

"I'll be happy just to live another day when we get back," said Hermione.

"If anyone can bring that about, and the other me has half the wisdom and wit he seems to think he has, then I don't doubt that you two can make that happen."

"It's been good to see you, sir," Hermione uttered, almost timidly, Ginny nodding her agreement, next to her.

"Always remember that life _does_ throw up unexpected events, but that having been said, I'm thankful for every surprise," Dumbledore sighed. "Now, I must leave. I'm supposed to be having some firewhisky with friends at The Three Broomsticks, celebrating VE Day!"

"But it's a muggle thing?" asked Ginny.

"As I said before, many of us helped out where we could, we deserve a drink too, don't you think?" he laughed. "I couldn't be as active as some, but even ideas and suggestions are worthy help."

Placing a supportive, gentle hand on Ginny and Hermione's shoulders, he inclined a bow to each of them. "Farewell, and goodluck," he said, as he turned and left through the scullery.

A few minutes passed, with the two young women just staring at the place where Albus Dumbledore had been standing moments before.

"I didn't expect that!" said Hermione.

"Me neither, and another journey?"

"Yes, that was very disconcerting," sighed the brunette. "But I understand why it has to be done that way. We've been fiddling with a lot of elements in time."

"It would've been nice to be told that he didn't know much from the start," said Ginny.

"Maybe we wouldn't have had faith in him, and feared things more, then we might not have been so effective?"

Ginny turned to Hermione and hugged her. "We'd have been just fine. Nevermind, it's done now. You're okay for moving on today?"

"Absolutely!" said Hermione, who pulled back from the hug and placed a kiss on Ginny's lips. "I think we're due some answers! It feels like we've been short-changed today."

"Hardly!" grinned Ginny. "He gave us those items and the remaining galleons!"

"You know what I mean!" chuckled Hermione.

"Yeah, I want some answers," said Ginny. "Let's have some lunch, then get ready and go, shall we?"

"Agreed."

The anticipation of their next move, left them with only a moderate appetite, and they had mostly snack food for lunch, packing up a couple of items and a flask of tea to take with them.

"Oh good grief!" said Ginny. "We're still packing up food!"

"Old habits die hard," laughed Hermione. "But I like to be prepared too, so why not?"

"Precisely!"

They did a routine check of all the rooms in the house, making sure to leave nothing behind which they hadn't meant to, with both of their enchanted bags in their pockets. Hermione didn't find any more red bubblebath bottles, but it had become of little importance when thinking of where they were going next.

They stood in the kitchen dressed in their ordinary clothes, the ones they'd been wearing when they first arrived in Godric's Hollow in 1943. The clothes were much cleaner and mended, and almost looked freshly laundered.

Hermione and Ginny embraced and shared a slow kiss, not knowing if the time or place would allow them the luxury in the near future. Their arms wrapped around each other, as their lips passed messages of care and hope to one another.

Breaking the kiss after several minutes, they looked into each other's eyes, sparkling with want and of tears unshed. Hermione smiled at Ginny, then took the redhead's hand and led them out to the back garden.

Both of them stood in the familiar unkempt garden, wistfully gazing back to the house. "We never said 'goodbye' to Humphrey," said Ginny, beguiled by the situation, even though she did feel a pull of almost sentiment.

"Be my guest," said Hermione, amused.

"No, I'm not _that _desperate!"

"We never said 'bye' to Mrs. Haughty, either?"

"I do draw the line at her!" laughed Ginny, as she turned her head back to Hermione. "It's predictable, but I want to stay a little longer, now we're ready to actually leave."

"I do too," admitted Hermione. "But...,"

"But, if we stay a little longer, it becomes the day, then the night, then another day and...,"

"Exactly."

"It's not fear making me feel that," said Ginny, then she smiled. "Not much fear, anyway. It's just the unknown again, when this house has been such a retreat for us."

"I know. And here I get to be with you, with few complications," said Hermione.

Ginny thought on that sentence, then gave a laugh. "Few complications? Like being in 1943, then 1945, dressed between a WAAF and a dark arts antique collector, isn't complicated?"

Hermione had to laugh at that too. "You know what I mean!"

"Yes, I do. Well, shall we move now?"

Hermione retrieved the Time-Turner from her beaded bag and put the long chain around both their necks. "Just one more kiss," she said, as her lips met Ginny's.

Ginny held Hermione's left wrist firmly, as the brunette poised her wand over the instrument. "Headmaster's Office, Hogwarts, 2230 Hours, 15th June 1997, _Movere!"_

Immediately the scene of the untidy garden whirled away in a swirl of motion, as the two witches experienced the squishing and rushing and other sensations of their highly unconventional mode of travel.

The journey seemed to take longer than their most recent travel from 1943 to 1945, but that could have been the thought of the actual amount of years they were travelling, making them believe it was longer. Finally they felt their feet thump solidly onto ground, echoing as they landed, staggering and ending up in a heap on the floor surface.

"Well met!" said a familiar voice.

Hermione quickly looked at their surroundings, and was relieved to see they were indeed in the Headmaster's Office at Hogwarts. She removed the Time-Turner chain from around their necks, helping Ginny to her feet in the process, before putting the instrument back into her beaded bag. As of yet she hadn't seen Dumbledore, or where his voice had come from.

"Hello? Sir?" called Hermione.

With the words hardly leaving her lips, both women saw Dumbledore descend some steps at the back of his office, carrying a tray in one hand with three mugs on it.

"Hot chocolate?" he offered with a kindly smile.

Ginny and Hermione walked to the Headmaster's desk and took seats where Dumbledore indicated, and where he placed a mug of hot chocolate before them.

The Dumbledore they faced, was the one they knew best; the older and arguably wiser version, but so obviously marked by the passage of time now. Compared to the moderately sprightly Dumbledore, they had so recently left in 1945, it was almost shocking to view. It was like their favourite uncle had been ill and they'd only now seen him a few months after some disease had wasted his body.

"Everything all right?" asked the wizard.

"Yes," said Hermione. "It's all a bit strange...we only just said 'goodbye' to you in 1945."

"Ah, I see, totally understandable," the old man smiled. "To me, I said 'goodbye' to you fifty-two years ago. That's quite a wait for me! But here we are."

"We don't quite know what to say, or ask, sir?" said Hermione.

"That is why you are here, and I will do my best to answer your questions, maybe even before you ask them. It is time you knew just what we have planned and how you're going to try and make this work. It won't be easy, necessarily...tasks like this never are. It won't be pleasant, but you're both used to less than pleasant quests too. It will, however, be unexpected, and if you succeed, it might just win it."

They all took sips from their drinks. "But there are many things you have to know first, before you get to the final act, and many things to try to understand," said Dumbledore. "So, I will make a start. The Deathly Hallows..."


	54. Lore

**A/N: Ouch...my ears were burning badly after Chapter 53! LOL Sorry about the cliffhanger...not! :)**

**Finally after the mad goose chase I've led you on, you'll get some answers. This chapter might take a couple of reads to really understand which planet I'm on with it. However, this chapter is actually the whole reason I've written this story, or where everything else came from. **

**I'll explain why I've done things this way at the end of the chapter...for those interested. I know some people like A/Ns and others hate them. Always a choice whether you want to read it or not. :)**

54: Lore

"The Deathly Hallows have always been the key," said Dumbledore to the two attentive witches in front of him. "Yet even though I knew how important they would be, I still didn't appreciate the facts in front of me."

"Sir, I hate to interrupt," said Hermione. "But before we go further I want to ask something?"

"Please do."

"Are you...are you aware of...well, the time after now?" asked Hermione, wondering if she was about to be tongue-tied.

"Yes, I know what happens," said Dumbledore. "It was shortly before that time when I knew what needed to be done. From my preparations I know I die and how it happens, and no, I won't be changing that part, like so many other things that I haven't changed. It was at the time when I knew 'things' were near that I came back to this point and began to plan."

"It must be so hard...not to change things?" asked Ginny.

"Not really...not for myself," Dumbledore said. "I always respect time and as long as that thought comes first, then I can't stray too far from what is right."

"So...you know that...Sna...," began Hermione.

"Yes, Severus kills me...as was arranged," said Dumbledore, almost enjoying the expressions the young witches wore. "I can tell you no more on that here, because it is a personal matter between a Headmaster and his colleague. I have no doubt you will hear the truth in some way at a later date."

There was silence in which a person could almost hear the ticking of brains as they thought on the information.

_I _knew _there was something odd about that whole Snape killing Dumbledore thing, _thought Hermione.

_Hermione was right, _thought Ginny, _of course she was right...I should know that by now! So that means Harry saw, essentially, a mummer's farce, an act._

"Anyway, I'll take us back to The Deathly Hallows, now," said Dumbledore. "As you know, I realized the Resurrection Stone had been damaged, first by Voldemort creating a horcrux with it and again when I handled it badly to destroy it." He lifted his blackened and withered hand. "I was too arrogant over my abilities, I think, and realized too late about my grave mistake."

"Mistake? Horcruxes are extremely hard to destroy! The horcruxes, Ron, Harry and I destroyed were nearly impossible to deal with," said Hermione.

"Oh, there are several ways to destroy horcruxes, and certainly the Ring, but I was foolish," Dumbledore said, taking a small sip of hot chocolate. "As you may or may not know, in my youth and even till now, I was obsessed with The Deathly Hallows. Finding them, owning them, wielding them...yes, yes, it's sounds bad and fanatical and at points in my life it was an overwhelming passion. However I ignored the facts in front of me, the simple facts...preferring to give in to the flashy legends and lore. The more fantastical lore won my attention."

"Are there different stories for the Hallows? Not just The Three Brothers?" asked Ginny, so engrossed in the conversation she didn't think before interrupting.

"The Three Brothers _is_ the first such tale and there have been records of similar tales since, but the original story is the one to follow," answered Dumbledore patiently. "But it is the parts of the story and lore that we retain most which count, and for all my life I've ignored the simple, yet vital parts."

"Ignored?" questioned Hermione.

"I always viewed each Hallow as powerful and important in their own right," continued the Headmaster. "And they _are_ three powerful objects. But they are at their most powerful when all owned by one person."

"Is that why you left Harry the Stone?" asked Ginny. "He had the Cloak too...although...not the Wand..."

"Partly, I was trying to give him a headstart," said the wizard. "But even when I finally realized what he must do and how, I had already ruined it, many years ago when I first became aware of the Stone and did nothing about it like I should have, and gave Harry nothing to work with. Poor lad. If only I hadn't left things the way they were and didn't leave that option to Tom; he never should have had access to the Stone...if only I hadn't out-thought myself and diverted from the fate I should have followed...but...nevermind. The fact remains that Harry had nothing to work with."

"Nothing to work with?" asked Hermione a little confused.

"The Stone does not raise the dead, not beyond a type of ghost." stated the wizard.

"We know," replied Hermione. "Even the story says that."

"Unless...," Dumbledore said, surprising the two young women. "Unless, the Stone is whole and you have the other two Hallows. Things are slightly different in those circumstances."

Hermione looked at Ginny aghast, and the redhead looked back at her with the same facial expressions.

"I didn't just get my cursed hand from destroying the Ring," said Dumbledore. "It partly happened when the foolish old man that I am, tried to bring forth his sister."

"Sir?" was all Hermione could utter, not quite believing what she was hearing.

"Yes, yes, I've been reckless and I'm paying for it heavily," the wizard smiled. "Sometimes temptation gets to the best of us. As it happens my sister was _nearly_ as I expected...not of either world and unhappy. Even so, she was still not how she should have been, and I realized that the creating of a horcrux had altered the Stone a great deal. I hoped it would still function for someone with another Hallow, like Harry, but I think he also would have experienced a very unhelpful event with it, and might even have wondered why I went to so much trouble for him to have it."

"Was Harry supposed to...to raise the dead?" asked Hermione. "They couldn't fight for him...as they're supposedly not completely corporeal? Although...you said they were ghosts..unless you had all..."

"That is not the line of thought we need to define right now," said Dumbledore, stopping Hermione from continuing and taking a deep breath before going on. "Here is the important part of the Hallows lore: 'The one who masters all three Hallows is the Master of Death.'"

"That's why You Know Who wanted the Wand?" said Ginny. "But...he didn't know he had the Stone and he never got close to the Cloak."

"And that's the point of it!" said Dumbledore.

"The point?" asked Hermione, rubbing at her head in thought. "I'm not totally sure what you're saying, sir?

"The very little Voldemort knows has made him think it's all about the Wand and it's all about mastering 'death', everyone's death, death itself, as if he can chain the act as his prisoner and his gift. Most Hallows fanatics always take the phrase 'Master of Death' too grandly and nearly always take it wrongly, like I did in my youth. However," said Dumbledore. "...what it means, is to be the master of your _own_ death. By accepting your fate and not running from it, you can master it."

"So, if you accept you're going to die, you live?" asked a confused Ginny.

"Exactly!" replied Dumbledore.

"Is that why the snitch you gave Harry, had the words, 'I open at the close'?" Hermione asked.

"Yes, that's right...except now I know things had gone wrong by then, and when I became aware of it, I knew there was a good chance it would _all_ go badly and Harry wouldn't be able to win. Sadly the fake Hallow he will have now won't even summon a ghost for comfort."

"I'm sorry, sir, but I'm still a little lost on this," Hermione inquired, almost tiredly. Ginny nodded her agreement on that.

"It _is_ a lot to take in, I know. But once you know _all_ of it, it should make more sense. Harry knew he had to die and that Voldemort had to be the one to do it," said Dumbledore. "The way of destiny, prophecy and fate could not be altered in this case...there was far too strong a connection between them. Harry had a part of Voldemort inside him...Harry was a horcux that Voldemort never meant to make, the night he killed Lily and James Potter."

"Harry's a horcrux?" asked Ginny in a slightly squeaky voice.

"That is why Voldemort had to be the one to kill Harry...to kill the part of himself within the lad. Voldemort would never really know about it, but it was there all the same. Here we come to the reason why we wanted the Stone before it could be damaged," said Dumbledore, taking a last sip of his hot chocolate. "Harry needed the Stone to live. To master his own death, to survive the death Voldemort dealt to him. He accepted his death, so he had mastered death in its own way, but he did not have the tools he needed."

"So that's why he needed the Stone whole?" asked Hermione. "He had the Cloak, but not the Wand...so it might still not have worked?"

"He was the owner of the Wand," said Dumbledore in a quiet voice.

"He _was_?" asked Hermione.

"On my travels, I have seen that via Draco Malfoy, Harry became the true owner of the Wand...although it never came into his actual hands."

"Just a moment," Ginny said, trying to piece all of it together. "Are you saying that had Harry got the undamaged Stone with him he would have lived? Because he had claim to the Cloak and Wand too, so was completely Master of Death?"

"Yes and no," sighed Dumbledore. "This is another mistake I made. It's not enough to actually have rightful claim on the Hallows, they have to be physically in the person's possession too, along with some other unique factors."

"Well, Harry never had a chance to get the Wand, You Know Who...stole...err...got it," said Hermione, not wanting to talk about the Dark Lord breaking into Dumbledore's tomb. "So I don't think it would ever have worked."

"Yet another mistake of mine," said Dumbledore, as he picked up his wand from the desk. "Initially I had hoped the ownership question would die with me and that it wasn't needed, but I hadn't understood things properly then, or factored the involvement of Draco Malfoy. With the ability of time-travel and second chances, I had fully intended for Harry to take the Wand from me, shortly before I die...but I soon realized it couldn't happen that way either, because it was nowhere near to happening in the first place. And it can't happen now."

Ginny stared at the Wand which Dumbledore was fiddling with on the desk. _Blimey! _she thought, _that's THE Wand!_

"Okay, I think we're following things a bit better, now," said Hermione. "But if we're not changing the things up until your death, sir, or up to when we left with the Time-Turner, then just why did we get the Stone? The Cup too? Why any of it? Either way Harry hasn't got the Hallows and is dead."

"We can not change what you two have already witnessed, as you know," said Dumbledore calmly. "However we can change what happens when you get back to the Battle. The things you've done in the 1940s are very minute, essentially hidden changes, the swapping of objects, that make no difference back then, but will make a big difference when you go back."

"What do we have to try and do?" asked Hermione, not sure what it could be and having several weird and impossible ideas about it. _I wonder if by having the Stone undamaged we can protect others from death in some way...or...?_

"You're going to bring back Harry Potter," said Dumbledore, as calmly as if he was talking about the weather.

"WHAT?" Ginny exclaimed.

"WHAT!" Hermione yelped. _Bloody hell...is that even possible! _she thought in shock.

Dumbledore couldn't help a small smile. "Well, if _you're_ that surprised about it, then I know Voldemort won't expect it at all."

"Bring back Harry?" asked Ginny. "That's...that's...raising the dead?"

"Not really," said the wizard. "Harry's destiny should have been to master his own death, the damage to the Stone actually altered his true future. He has wrongly died, and that's why we can and should reverse it. I don't believe his soul can move on in any way, as things stand, and if he's aware of that he's probably very confused. All the more reason to try to bring him back."

"How?" Hermione asked. "He's been dead for a while once we get back. We're not exactly necromancers! I don't fancy raising a zombie Harry either!"

"You won't be, I can assure you," smiled Dumbledore. "You don't need to be necromancers or some dark priestesses of dubious religion. I need you to be exactly as you are. It might even be very helpful that you are indeed muggle-born, Hermione."

"How do we do it? How do we do it in the middle of a battle? I think a lot of people won't be happy if we start fiddling with Harry's body?" said Hermione, not knowing why being muggle-born would be helpful in any way with the task they were about to have explained, so dismissed it as Dumbledore's eccentric prattling. "Come to think of it, _I'm_ not happy to be fiddling with Harry's body!"

"Me neither," said Ginny, he face pale and her body feeling a little numb. "I...of course I'd love him to be alive...but, raise him from the dead...bring him back?" A tear escaped unbidden from her eye, which she fiercely brushed away.

"The situation is this: Harry stays dead, and it is a certainty that the side of good loses, and is taken under the yoke of Voldemort. Or, you can try to bring back Harry, who is the _only_ one able to kill Voldemort and you have a chance...a real chance to win, once and for all." Dumbledore paused, then sighed before adding, "I understand your distaste, but if there's a chance of success, don't you think it should be tried, at least? He won't be the living dead either...he will be how he always was and as alive as you two are. Wouldn't Harry like a chance to end Voldemort? The chance fate was meant to give him, but failed to, thanks in part to my own failures?"

Hermione had reached over for Ginny's hand, knowing that the redhead must be feeling even more turmoil than she herself was. "I don't like it," said Hermione. "But, we may have nothing to go back to. I think we have to try."

Ginny looked at Hermione and nodded, "I don't like it either, but we have no choice. We were losing...we have to try. I just hate to think of the consequences."

"I know," said Hermione. "There's always a price to pay for something like this."

"True, sometimes there's a price, sometimes not," said Dumbledore. "However, that price might be very small compared to the immense results you might gain. I think the risks are worth it, because to not take the risk, means nothing will change when you go back...by trying, you give yourself and our magical world another chance."

"Okay, we'll do it," said Hermione. "How or what do we have to do?

"It's simple," said Dumbledore, then he had to smile at the incredulous looks from the two witches.

"Simple?" said a disbelieving Ginny.

"Actually it is," replied the wizard. "It's getting in position which will be harder. Harry's body is in the Great Hall, yes?"

"Er...how...?" asked Hermione.

"I travel, I observe," smiled Dumbledore. "And yes, I would've loved to have lended a hand...but I can not, as you know. It makes it no easier, and that's the truth. Anyway, Harry's body is in the Great hall. I believe he still has his Invisibility Cloak on his person, in a pocket; when you go to him, check for that straight away." Hermione and Ginny nodded agreement,

"Harry needs the Hallows on his person, so the Cloak is vital. If not you'll have to search for it...but I'm confident it is with Harry. It might be prudent to cover yourselves with it while you work, to avoid notice and add to the surprise," said Dumbledore, instructively. "You need to slip the Ring onto one of Harry's fingers, so it's close to his skin. And you did obtain Hufflepuff's Cup, if I remember correctly?"

"Yes, no problem," said Hermione.

"It has strong magical properties, one of which is the gift of healing and in this unique case I believe it will aid life," said Dumbledore. "If we didn't have the Cup, it would be harder to work, but as we have it, it will make things much easier."

"Does Harry have to drink something from it?" asked Ginny.

"This," said Dumbledore, opening a drawer in his desk and retrieving a small vial of clear liquid.

"Is that a potion?" asked Hermione. "Will it require any charms?"

"No charms," said the wizard. "Just pour it into the Cup and get some into Harry's mouth. The potion is simply veritaserum mixed with phoenix tears."

"Really?" asked a surprised Hermione.

"Again, it's simple magic at work," the wizard told them. "'True Healing.'"

"Right," said Ginny. "We check he has the Cloak, put the Ring onto his finger, give him the potion from the Cup...then...wait, what about the Wand? You Know Who has it!"

"And now we come to another reason you needed to visit me here," said Dumbledore, as he held the Elder Wand again. "You need this."

"What about you needing a wand, sir?" asked Hermione. "What about Harry not really having it...not owning it?"

"Firstly," said Dumbledore. "This wasn't my original wand. I had one from Ollivander's just as you two did on starting Hogwarts." He opened another desk drawer and retrieved a much more plain-looking wand. "It works nearly as well for me as the Elder Wand, and for what time I have left, it will be more than up to the task...I just need to..."

Dumbledore pointed the Wand at his old original wand, and with a small flash the old one looked identical to the Elder Wand. He put the altered wand to one side on the desk. "It's one of the Wand's many charms, you can do things otherwise impossible, such as altering the look of another wand. Ollivander would highly disapprove. Anyway, I need you to disarm me," the wizard said to the two girls.

"Pardon?" asked Ginny.

"You need to take this Wand from me," Dumbledore said. "Then one of you will be the rightful owner. And thinking on it...it might be best if it's you, Ginny."

"You can't be saying you're choosing me because Hermione will let it go to her head, surely?" asked Ginny, disturbed.

"Far from it," replied Dumbledore. "I just think you will be less of a target, Ginny, so the Wand will be marginally safer on your person."

Ginny still didn't like the idea. "It's all right, Ginny," said Hermione. "I'm not feeling funny about it. We have to do this."

"A simple _Expelliarmus _will be suffice," said Dumbledore. "Shall we?"

Taking a deep breath, Ginny drew her wand, held it in front of her, but for a moment, couldn't say a word. Her mind was racing, as was her heart. _Let's get this straight, _she thought, _we're going to bring Harry back from the dead and I'm about to be the owner of the Elder Wand? Although I did dream of holding it once...Bloody hell!_

"Okay," Ginny said, exhaling another deep breath. She pointed her wand at Dumbledore's wand hand and said clearly, "_Expelliarmus!" _The Elder Wand jumped out of Dumbledore's hand, spun in the air and landed in Ginny's outstretched left hand.

"See? Painless," said Dumbledore, with a grin.

"How do we give Harry the Wand?" asked Hermione. "Ginny is the owner now. He'll have to take it from her, somehow, won't he?"

"Not if, but _when _Harry returns, get him to take it from you," the wizard said. "It doesn't have to be by magic, but it's more certain if it is...like we did just now."

"You Know Who thought you had to kill the owner to gain true possession," said Hermione.

"Yes, well, _he_ would," said Dumbledore. "It's always been about power with him; who has it and how to wield it. Tom Riddle would never understand true wand lore. And I can only be thankful that I realized just in time about the lores I had misinterpreted or chose to ignore."

"Sir, if all of this works, Harry still has to fight You Know Who, doesn't he?" asked Ginny.

"That's correct, and he's the only one who can. I know deep down he will find a way."

"Is...is there...?" Ginny began and stopped.

"Go on," said Dumbledore. "Don't be afraid to ask anything, that is why you're here now."

"It's selfish," said Ginny, lowering her head. "But...is there any chance we can bring back Fred, along with Harry? Lupin and Tonks too?"

"I'm very sorry, Ginny," said Dumbledore kindly. "It can not be done in this case. I would very much like to bring back many, if not all, of the people who have fallen, but it isn't possible and even if it were, it's not something that should be done."

Hermione moved her hand to hold Ginny's again, as she looked at the Headmaster. "I suppose if we could change every little thing, then we'd be altering all kinds of elements when we felt like it, and nothing would feel real."

"Exactly so," the wizard said. "Harry is an unique case. He also has an unprecedented connection with Voldemort that has to be appeased. The natural laws do not apply to him, but for the rest of us, the laws of life and death must remain. It must also be noted that Harry is a descendant of the original Three Brothers, as is Voldemort, and I believe the Hallows to only work in this way, when used by one sharing that blood. I'm sorry."

"No...it's...I didn't expect it," said Ginny with a sigh. "But I had to ask."

"Of course, and I wouldn't expect any less," said Dumbledore.

"Sir?" said Hermione. "In 1945 when you looked at the items we bought from Borgin & Burkes, you said the necklace we bought had some protective powers, but you said that 'no necklace or artefact can protect the wearer from ultimate and undisputed death'. Yet, Harry would have lived if he had all three undamaged Hallows?"

"Firstly I would say, that I know more now than I did then, but I stand by that statement," Dumbledore said with a smile. "Even if Harry had all three Hallows it would not have _protected_ him from death. He still would have died, and has to die, but the Hallows would have enabled him to return after a short time. He has to die for that part of Voldemort within him to die, before he can return. As things stand in your time, he _has_ died, the part of Voldemort's soul attached to him has also died, but Harry did not have the Hallows to allow him to return. Which is why we need to kick-start the process with help from Hufflepuff's Cup, to allow the Hallows to work and allow them to give him the strength to do what he must in facing Voldemort again."

Hermione and Ginny felt very tired. They'd been sitting in the Headmaster's Office for a long time. "Do we leave here now, and get back to the Battle?" asked Hermione.

"You can, if you wish," said Dumbledore. "Personally, I hope you take a day or two off, as it were. Rest, conserve your energy, get our plan clear in your minds. I have given you so much information tonight that I would prefer it if you took some time to absorb it."

"Where can we go?" asked Hermione. "We can't go to the Dormitory for a snooze or anywhere else in the school."

"Do you remember a little cottage in Godric's Hollow, by any chance?" said Dumbledore, smiling.

"You still have the house?" asked a surprised Hermione.

"Yes, though I've rarely used it in years. However, I've had the elves make it homely again and you can stay there for a day or two if you wish?"

"Thank you, sir," said Ginny. "At least we'll be familiar with it."

"Try not to venture outside, if you can help it. Again, you're not really supposed to be here," said Dumbledore.

"We understand," said Hermione, looking forward to going back to the house. "How will we get there? Do we have to go to Hogsmeade and Disapparate?"

"No, that would be too risky," replied the wizard. "I can, however, take you there now. I'm sure you're aware that I can Apparate and Disapparate from Hogwarts." He laughed. "If you'd take an arm each."

The wizard stood up and walked around the desk. The two young women rose to their feet; Hermione held one of Dumbledore's arms, and Ginny the other. Both then felt the upheaval and stomach-lurching movement of Side-Along Apparating, before in a short time they were standing in the familiar back garden in Godric's Hollow. At night the garden looked even rougher and more untidy than ever, but the house looked the same, even from there.

"Here I must leave you," said Dumbledore. "I've probably said it many times, but I _am_ so proud of you both. I want to thank you for trusting an old wizard and never baulking from the dangerous tasks I have set you upon. If there's any chance we'll succeed, I know we've had the best witches on the case."

Dumbledore shook hands with both Hermione and Ginny, rested a fatherly hand on their shoulders, before smiling and Disapparating.

Hermione stared at the place Albus Dumbledore had been standing just moments before. "I can't believe he'll be dead in a couple of weeks from now."

"I'm having trouble with all of it," said Ginny, as they walked to the house in the dark, their path lit only by a few stars in the sky.

They walked into the kitchen, where the range stove had already been lit, by the elves no doubt. Although it was June, the night was a slightly chilly one. Ginny slumped down onto a kitchen chair, her head in her hands, now realizing she was exhausted and discovered to her own annoyance and confusion, that she was crying. "God!" she muttered.

"Hey," said Hermione, seeing Ginny upset, going to her and hugging her. "We're going to be all right."

Ginny sniffled. "Bringing Harry back to life! I had no idea that was the plan? It's all crazy...absolutely fucking crazy!"

Hermione hugged Ginny tight as she sat next to her, but a selfish part of her had surfaced. _Bringing Harry back,_ she thought, _does that mean she and I are over? Please no! Although I suppose I should expect it...shouldn't I? Does it change how she feels for me...or... We've been so truthful with each other, and I know she cares for me a great deal...but all of that was with the knowledge that Harry was dead and not coming back..._

As Hermione had been thinking her troubling and insecure thoughts about what it might mean, Ginny had pulled back from the embrace and placed a small kiss on her lips. _Now I'm really confused, _thought Hermione, _and that's before we realize what we've got to try and do back at Hogwarts! Somehow, everything has become much more complicated._

"It's getting late," said Hermione. "I think we're both exhausted. Let's get some rest, if we can." Ginny gave a little nod of agreement.

They made a cup of tea to take upstairs with them, then freshened up in the bathroom before getting into the familiar comfortable bed.

"It's all so much to take in," said Ginny, tiredly. "We're going to be doing things no one has attempted before...let alone the uncertainty I have about it all."

"I know how you feel," said Hermione.

"Bringing Harry back, though," said Ginny. "I didn't think that was possible or even moral with the bloody rules we've been following! I never saw that one coming."

"Me neither. I didn't think it was possible, beyond making someone into an inferi or zombie type being."

"I don't know what to think, what to feel. My mind's a mess!"

_You're not the only one, _thought Hermione. "Well, let's try to get some sleep." She got close to Ginny, uncertain if the redhead would want to be close or not and for the moment it seemed like any of the recent nights they'd had together. They were so exhausted that they were both asleep before Hermione could wonder any more on her doubts and concerns.

Unsurprisingly, Hermione found herself in a dream..._zzzzzzz_

She was walking along a corridor at Hogwarts, and thought she recognized it as leading to the library. Oddly she didn't have a bag with her, but went into the library anyway. Her walk took her through the empty front area and it seemed she was heading to the Restricted Section. It was then she heard a sound like a cough. _Someone's here already, then, _she thought.

As Hermione reached the back, she turned and nearly shouted out in surprise. There was Ginny, but the shock was the fact the red-haired woman was lying on a desk, with Harry lying on top of her, and they were kissing.

Harry looked up and saw Hermione. "Don't tell on us," he said with a cheeky grin, before he resumed kissing Ginny.

Hermione could almost feel her heart stop beating, as she looked on numbly. _Walk away, wake up,_ she thought, _I know why I'm seeing this. It's this blasted situation!_

As luck would have it, her dream changed, blurring and then taking shape again. Now Hermione found herself walking across the Entrance Hall. A few students were wandering around, but she made her way into the Great Hall. Walking over to the Gryffindor table she found Ginny, drinking some juice from a glass.

"Hi," Hermione said, as she sat opposite her.

"Hey Hermione," Ginny replied with a smile.

It seemed to be a boring replay insight into breakfast at Hogwarts, but Hermione was almost glad of the boredom. There were others at the table, all doing completely normal eating and drinking activities.

When Hermione looked back to Ginny, the redhead looked like she was miles away, thinking of other things. She was about to say something when Ginny gave a strange little noise, as if tickled.

"You all aright, Ginny?" asked Hermione.

"Hmm? Oh...yes, fine," Ginny answered, before almost giving a hiccough, as if trying to stop herself from laughing.

_What's wrong with her? _thought Hermione. _I know dreams can make people act odd, but it's annoying. It's like everyone knowing the joke except me._

Ginny continued to have an almost vacant look, and still seemed on the verge of giggling. Hermione decided to ignore it and reached for a knife to spread some jam onto a slice of toast. She hadn't got a hold of the knife properly and it skidded off the surface and down under the table.

"Blast!" Hermione said, as she scrabbled under the table, it was then she had some answers.

"WHAT?|" Hermione nearly shrieked, in surprise. Under the table, Hermione had not only found her knife but Harry. He was kneeling before Ginny, whose legs were spread, skirts flared out, as Harry buried his face into her crotch.

"NOOO! Not at the breakfast table!" shouted Hermione.

_'Not at the breakfast table?' _she thought, _that's the least of it! I don't want Harry doing that to Ginny anywhere! I suppose that answers why she was vacant and acting odd...and nearly laughing. Please change the dream, wake up...I don't want to see this. __**You wish it was you between her legs instead? **_said her conscience. _Yes...I don't deny it._

Again her dream changed and blurred. Hermione was walking a familiar path to the quidditch pitch and changing rooms. _Please let this be _me_ meeting Ginny this time, _she thought.

Hermione entered through the door to find the changing rooms empty. She walked around the benches, and it was then she heard running water. _Ah yes, those showers which exist in my dreams but not in real life._

Despite her mind feeling disturbed and bothered by her dreams so far, she boldly walked on and into the shower stalls, but immediately wished she hadn't. Looking around a stall Hermione saw Ginny and Harry again. In her subconscious she was almost expecting it from the moment she entered the shower stalls, but doggedly walked on. _Do your worst!_ she thought, preparing to face up to whatever her dream showed her.

She saw fully what the scene was; Harry and Ginny were naked, and Harry had the redhead up against the wall, thrusting into her...both of them grunting and moaning. Hermione couldn't take her eyes off Ginny, and at the same time her heart was bruising, crushing, cracking and breaking in her chest.

Ginny opened her eyes, found Hermione looking at her and seemed to put on more of a performance, moaning louder and writhing more too. It was then Ginny spoke, "You know it has to be him. You know he'll always be first."

"What?" was all Hermione could answer.

"He's always first in my heart. He can give me what you can't. He gives me so much more," said Ginny, without malice, but in a cold voice.

"Noo," said Hermione, feeling tears begin to stream down her face. "You don't mean it? NO!"

"Of course I mean it. You were always second choice, you _knew_ that?"

"Nooo," said Hermione. "I love you...I...I...nooooo!"

Harry turned his head, smirked at Hermione, then sped up his thrusting, making Ginny moan more loudly.

"Noooooooooo! NOOOO!"..._zzzzzzz_

"Shh," said a soft voice. "You're safe, I'm here."

Hermione opened her eyes and found Ginny looking at her, full of concern, holding her tightly and stroking her cheek. It seemed Hermione was crying even though she was awake now. A little sob or two escaped her lips. "I'm sorry. Bad dream...silly dream," she said.

"Do you want to talk about it?" asked Ginny.

"I'm not sure how. I...I want you to know about it, but I'm scared...scared what you'll think, because it's important in some ways. God, I'm not making sense."

"Tell me."

**A/N: Oops, sorry, another cliffhanger!**

**Explanation.**** I thought the reason and use of the Resurrection Stone in the books and movies was wishy-washy and a little worthless. All that trouble and cryptic faffing about just so Harry could see his dead relatives/friends before he died? What if seeing them made him flee instead of going on? That would have messed up Dumbledore's plan, wouldn't it? The Hallows were supposed to be powerful...I just thought the whole concept was not used to all the potential it might have been. I don't think I'll be going to anywhere near the full potential myself...I've used it as an excuse to go time-travelling, because that was what came to mind when I thought up this story one night. :)**

**Also, and importantly, every single horcrux had been mangled or completely destroyed in trying to 'kill' them. The Diary, Cup, Diadem and Locket were nearly or utterly destroyed after being de-horcruxed(is that even a word?). The snake had to be killed, Harry had to be killed. Yet the Stone still functioned after Dumbledore had destroyed the horcrux part? It never sat very well with me. I also thought it was hinted at that Dumbledore maybe got cursed not just from trying to destroy the horcrux but in attempting to see his sister. Either way I wasn't happy and wanted a bit more significance to owning the Hallows and what you could do with them. It's just a deeper nudge to what I thought they could do but was only vaguely hinted at and not fully used.**

**Of course, I'm sure there's lots of you don't agree with my idea, or might even be disappointed, but that's why we write our stories and try different takes on all the material we know and love. :) **

**Finally: My plan for the use of the Ring and Cup might seem obvious and simple...but often that provides better framework to write around. Sometimes it's surprising to be unsurprising. ;) However, theory is one thing, the practical another... ;) **


	55. Declaration

**A/N: It's occurred to me that Hermione and some of her logical thinking would make her the Potter equivalent of a Vulcan...which made me think of a T'Pol/HG crossover femmeslash. Interesting. Anyway, that has nothing whatsoever to do with this story, so I'll shut my cakehole and let you read on...**

55: Declaration

Hermione sighed, resigned to the fact that she'd decided to tell Ginny about her dream, which ultimately revealed her real fear that Ginny would consider Harry again when he breathed once more, and that what they had between them would be turned into a fling, the kind that happened on holiday.

"You can tell me anything," said Ginny.

"I know I can," replied Hermione. "I'm just not sure you'll want to hear this...and I don't want to make things more difficult, because I can't imagine what you're thinking, or _will _think once you hear it."

They moved slightly so they could see each other as they spoke, and Hermione launched into the tale of her dream. Both found the library scene a little amusing once it was voiced. Ginny flushed a bright red with the table incident in the Great Hall, and then it came to the awful part of the dream in the changing rooms.

After Hermione had described everything, closing her eyes a few times, unable to look at Ginny, there was a silence. Hermione could feel tears rolling down her cheeks again, with a sense of despair increasing. _What will Ginny think of me now? _she thought depressed.

"You're worried it's true?" asked Ginny.

"Of course," said Hermione. "I can't think otherwise...it's logical."

"It's logical that I'll go back to Harry if we bring him back to life?" _Does she have such a low opinion of me? _Ginny wondered to herself, beginning to feel irritated.

"You've said yourself that had he not died, you assumed you'd still be with him."

"Do you really think that of me? That I'd allow myself to get close to you, then jump ship when it suited? After everything?" asked a tense Ginny, her voice tinged with anger.

"No...no I don't think that of you...but the situation is unique. We're both young, been under so much stress...I just..."

"You wondered if I'd dump you to go back to Harry?" Ginny snapped, more angry.

"Well...if...if the roles were reversed, wouldn't you think that of me, going back to Ron?" asked Hermione, her voice breaking. "I...I can't...," Unable to look at Ginny from fear and from shame, she turned away, letting out a couple of hitched tearful breaths.

Ginny paused in thought as she looked at Hermione, the brunette was turned away with her back facing her now, her breathing laboured from distress and tears. As much as her anger and annoyance bubbled inside her, Ginny was struck by what Hermione had said. _She has a point, _she thought, _I trust Hermione, but I'd wonder if Ron came first again, if we brought him back from the dead. No wonder she's upset! If I thought I was going to lose her back to him...gods!_

"I'm sorry," said Ginny; she moved up behind the brunette and placed a hand on the other girl's shoulder. "This must be horrible for you."

"Well, it's equally hard for you, Gin. And I'm not making it...b...better, almost accusing you of being...of..."

"You're really wondering if I'd leave you? If I'd prefer Harry to you?" said Ginny, already beginning to feel different about the situation and much calmer.

"How can either of us really know...for sure?" asked Hermione, in a quiet, sheepish voice, punctuated with an unsteady breath from her tears, still unable to look at the redhead.

"It's true that we can't know for sure what we'll feel if Harry returns, but what I _do_ know, is that I'm with _you_, Hermione. I think we have something special, only made more so by what we've been through," said Ginny, wrapping an arm lightly around Hermione from behind.

"Harry's been through a lot with you too?" offered Hermione.

"Not what we have, though. What I feel for you...," said Ginny, trying to find the best words. "...it's not some passing phase, it's real."

Hermione felt her cheeks flush and go warm, she was feeling stupid and even ashamed over her dreams and wishing she could wave her wand and make everything have sense again.

"This is real too." Ginny firmly pulled on Hermione's shoulder turning the girl onto her back. She then hovered over Hermione, and captured her lips in a very sensual kiss, trying to convey her deep feelings to sooth and calm. The kiss felt powerful and made their lips tingle.

When they broke the kiss, Hermione was still crying a little. Ginny kissed the tears away, gently stroking Hermione's cheek with a thumb as she looked straight into her eyes. _I need to tell her, _thought Ginny. _However badly she might take it. I need to say the actual words._ "There's something you need to know, and I hope it doesn't mess things up, or complicate things even more and please don't hate me for it," she said.

Hermione swallowed hard, wondering after all if her fears had been correct, or whether Ginny wanted to cool things until they hopefully made it through the Battle. _Does she want to see if Harry is the same? Or...or that she's been dreaming of...of sleeping with him? What is it? Maybe it's about waiting until the dust settles from whatever we go back to? Thinking isn't going to get me the answer. _"Tell me."

"I...," Ginny paused, gathering her courage. "I won't leave you. I _can't_ leave you."

"Can't? Are we magically stuck together?" asked Hermione, nervously finding humour for some unknown reason. _Why am I trying to crack jokes at a time like this? _she thought, angry with herself.

"I can't leave you, because...I love you," said Ginny, settling back beside the brunette who had turned back towards her, watching her as she spoke. "I'm _in_ love with you."

Hermione didn't answer. _Shit! She's not going to say anything? She thinks I'm crazy!_ thought Ginny. _Maybe she _will_ hate me for complicating things too soon? Or...she could just be a bit surprised..._ "Well, laugh, tell me to back off and stop being silly...I understand, I'm too young to know what I'm saying," Ginny started to babble. "Maybe, but I know how I feel, and I feel in love with you...,"

Hermione looked into Ginny's eyes and saw no lie, no jest, no falsehood or crush, she saw the reality looking back at her from those loving eyes. Ginny was about to start babbling nervously again, when Hermione pressed a finger to her lips to quieten her. "I love you too."

"You don't have to say anything, I'll understand if you want separate...," Ginny started to mumble around the quieting finger.

"Ginny! I love you too!" Hermione said louder, having to still the redhead's moving lips once more.

"You do?"

"Yes, I do. I'm in love with you. Ginny."

"Bloody hell!" said Ginny, which made Hermione smile, even though more tears fell. "At least you believe me?"

"Of course I do...and now we've confessed it, I feel so stupid for ever doubting you with those dreams."

"No, I think you had good reason to fear those dreams. I just hope I never ever treat you like that in real life. I'm yours, not Harry's, yours," Ginny said softly.

"And I'm yours," said Hermione, feeling a peculiar sensation deep in her chest. It was such a strong physical feeling that it almost hurt.

Ginny moved to hover over Hermione again, staring into her eyes, breathing soft shallow breaths, before lowering her head and connecting her lips with the brunette's. The kiss was passionate and needy, tongues searching out the other; little moans were emitted from the deep kisses too.

The redhead kissed her way down Hermione's neck, gently nipping and licking the soft skin with her lips and tongue, licking small trails to the hollow where neck met collarbone. Ginny slid her hand down to the hem of Hermione's T'Shirt, pushing the material up and back, and as her mouth captured one nipple, her hand teased the other. Hermione had a hand in the red locks splayed across her chest, her body wanting to arch up into Ginny's touch, to feel more of her.

Rising up from Hermione's chest, Ginny straddled the brunette's waist, looked down at the woman she loved and moved both hands to hold Hermione's firm breasts, kneading them, flicking the nipples with her thumbs, before bending over her and connecting their lips again.

Hermione squirmed slightly, and reached back under her pillow for her wand, swished it and left both of them topless. They both gave a little moan of satisfaction as their breasts met, their hearts thumping out a passionate tune against one another.

Ginny sat back a little and Hermione took the opportunity to slide her hands up from the redhead's waist to cup her breasts. Sitting up herself, with Ginny kind of sitting on her lap now, Hermione leaned forward and took a nipple into her mouth, licking at it, sucking, pressing her tongue against it, as her hand worshipped the other breast.

Hermione made them both laugh when she suddenly wrapped her arms around Ginny and flipped them over so she was on top, with the redhead lying on her back. She looked down at Ginny, and smiled as her hands found her breasts again, before lowering her head to give attention to them with her lips and tongue. Ginny could feel herself almost melt under Hermione's touch.

Their lips connected again, trying to swallow the other's moans and create even more as they held on tightly to each other, hands continually moving over bare flesh, trying to feel and be felt everywhere at once. Both women had begun to nearly pant, their breathing as shallow and fast as if they had been running for their lives.

Giving an ultra tender kiss, slowing her actions down, Ginny broke from their kiss and looked up into Hermione's eyes. "Hermione," Ginny said, breathless. "I want you."

"I want you, too," replied Hermione, sounding almost breathless.

"I know we've talked before, but...it's just I...," Ginny couldn't seem to continue.

"You...?"

"How can I say this?" Ginny struggled, as her hands still traced patterns down Hermione's bare back. "You don't have to say 'yes'. I just feel so right..._you_ feel so right...I don't know if...,"

It dawned on Hermione what Ginny was suggesting. Both girls thought it should pull them up sharp, make them worried, make them uncertain, break the moment and give them all the doubts and issues they had ever felt in their dreams. Those feelings didn't occur at all, however; Ginny felt only love for Hermione and a certainty she had never felt before, she just didn't know if it was a shared feeling. Hermione had an inkling as to what Ginny was thinking and she also felt more certain about things than ever before.

"I might have ruined it now," said Ginny, nervously biting her bottom lip. "I know we're young and everything's confusing...I have no right to mention it, what with everything we've got coming up...I'm sorry for even thinking..."

Hermione pressed a finger to Ginny's lips again to stop her rabbiting on with nervous discourse. "Are you saying what I think you're saying?"

_I love her, she loves me, I can tell her anything, so tell her! _thought Ginny. "Hermione, I don't want to pressure you, and only if you're ready, but...will you make love to me...now?"

"Err...ah," was all Hermione could stutter out to begin with, her heart thumping inside her chest. _Don't mess it up, _she thought, _I love her, she loves me, this is our relationship._ "Yes."

"Yes?" repeated Ginny, feeling her cheeks get warmer.

"Yes. I want you Ginny. Pl...please don't think you _have _to, though...I'd never pressure you either. If you don't really feel ready...?" Hermione said, looking into Ginny's eyes.

Ginny gently pulled Hermione down and pressed a tender kiss to her lips. "I want to," she said. "And I want _you. _I remember you telling me ahout having to be with the right person at the right time for the right reasons. This is that moment for me." _I feel different about it all, s_he thought, _not scared of it, not all that nervous of it either. _

Hermione faintly nodded, realizing the truth of her own sentiments. _This is that time for me, too. I have no doubt about it._

"At this moment I think I understand what one of my Harry dreams meant, what _he_ meant. Whatever happens when we get back to Hogwarts, I want to remember making love with you," said Ginny, a tear rolling down the side of her cheek. "I want you to know just what I feel for you and that I could never set you aside."

Smiling warmly, and feeling more confident than she thought she would, Hermione kissed Ginny slowly, before she hovered over her. "You can tell me to stop at any time," Hermione said. "And I will. I promise you."

Ginny gave a sigh, only slightly nervous, looking up into Hermione's face, before placing a hand behind the brunette's head and pulling her down for a kiss. The kiss was deep and full of meaning; love, care and passion. When their tongues met again, a multitude of sensations coursed through their bodies.

Hermione held Ginny's breast, rubbing her palm and fingers over a hardened nipple, before kissing her way to the other breast and loving the nipple with her mouth. She lavished her attention on Ginny's breasts as the redhead had a hand in her hair, holding her to her chest, writhing a little to push herself more into Hermione's mouth and hands.

With only a little nervousness now, Hermione used her wand again, to remove both Ginny's and her own lower clothing. Ginny gasped when she felt herself become completely naked, but felt invigorated and turned on by it too.

Placing a deep kiss on her lips, Hermione moved a hand down Ginny's body, feeling the athletic figure move lithely beneath her hand, the muscles beneath her fingers almost ripple with anticipation. _I can do this, _thought Hermione, _I want to love her, and give everything I have to her._

Reaching the top of Ginny's mound, Hermione broke the kiss, looked into Ginny's eyes as if asking permission, before she moved her hand through the triangle of auburn hair and slipped her fingers into the intimate folds of the redhead. Ginny sighed, her hips moving upwards as Hermione's fingers brushed against her clit.

Hermione slowly slid her fingers up and down Ginny's womanhood, loving the soft feel of the woman's nether lips and the warm wetness of desire, which she had caused. The smell of her arousal was intoxicating, and the whole act surpassed even her most imaginative dreams, and she had an immense desire to pleasure Ginny completely, to make her feel special, to love her.

Concentrating back on Ginny's clit, Hermione rubbed slow circles around it, loving how the redhead was breathing faster and how the woman's hips were moving in a rhythm, meeting her hand. To watch Ginny, as she loved her, was amazing and powerful, it made Hermione want to laugh and cry at the same time.

Quickening her fingers a little, Hermione could tell that Ginny wasn't all that far off a climax; going by her knowledge of herself. She wanted to be inside Ginny as she came, but wasn't sure how far she could go, and didn't want to hurt the girl.

Hermione continued caressing Ginny's centre, and placed a brief kiss on her lips, before she whispered, "Ginny, would you like me inside you?"

"Yes," breathed Ginny. _Shit, the times I've dreamed about it and nearly always had it buggered up by Harry or something, _she thought, _I want to feel it for real._

"It's just, are you...you know...intact?" asked Hermione, hesitantly. "I don't want to hurt you if I can help it. So are you...you know?"

Ginny stilled her hip movements, panted a couple of breaths, as she focused her eyes on Hermione. "No," she laughed. "Riding a broomstick from the age of four saw to that! How about you?"

"A bit of horse riding when I was younger," said Hermione, with a beaming smile. "That will do it every time!"

Hermione actually gave a snort of laughter, which made Ginny laugh, before she leaned over and kissed Ginny passionately again, her hand rubbing firmer strokes and the redhead moving her hips once more. Their giggles subsided, to leave the sounds of fast breathing and utterances of pleasure, the creak of the bed and the wet sounds from between Ginny's thighs.

Moving back so she could see Ginny's face, Hermione moved two fingers down the girl's sex and gently entered her. Ginny moaned, and so did Hermione. It was the most incredible thing Hermione had ever seen or done. She could feel Ginny tighten around her fingers, her inner walls warm and slick. Leaving a thumb on Ginny's clit, Hermione moved her fingers in and out in a steady and quickening rhythm.

"That feels...amazing," panted Ginny.

Several thrusts later and Hermione could feel Ginny begin to grip her fingers more, her body writhe more and her moans and breathing becoming deeper. She kissed her on the lips, on the cheek, and when she reached the ear closest to her, she said words she never thought she'd ever say, but had always been moved by when she'd read them in books, "You're nearly there. Are you going to come? Hmm? I love you Ginny. Are you going to come for me, now?"

With a strangled moan, Hermione's words touching her as much as her fingers were, Ginny climaxed hard. Her hips and lower body shaking, her breaths coming in short pants, her inner walls releasing and squeezing and holding onto Hermione's fingers.

Ginny's body continued to flinch and twitch, as she almost fought for breath, still giving little moans. Hermione held her, pressing soft kisses to her face and neck, soothing her. It wasn't long before Hermione realized that Ginny was crying. "Did I hurt you?" Hermione asked, frantic. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing's wrong," said Ginny after a few moments, trying to gather herself. "I've never felt this way before. I don't know why I'm crying."

Hermione held onto her tighter and after a few minutes she asked, "You're sure you're okay?"

"Yes, I'm very okay," said Ginny. "Hmm...what you made me feel. Whew!" Her insides flinched again, just thinking about what had happened, as her breathing gradually settled down.

"It's the most beautiful thing I've ever seen," said Hermione. "You're beautiful. To be able to share this...it's amazing."

"_You're_ amazing," said Ginny, as she captured Hermione's lips, finally able to move again after her orgasm. Ginny flipped them, so she was on top of Hermione. "Can I love you, now?" she asked.

"Please," said Hermione, her voice tinged with desire. "I think I'll die of anticipation if you don't!"

Ginny smiled down at Hermione, her chest feeling like it was going to burst with the feeling of want and love. She kissed Hermione, starting slow and simple, touching and nibbling her soft lips against the brunette's. Hermione wrapped her arms around Ginny, her hands caressing the smooth bare skin of the redhead's back.

Their tongues pushed against one another, as Ginny moved a hand down to hold a firm breast, gently kneading the flesh, rubbing her thumb and fingers over the erect nipple, feeling Hermione move in her grasp, arching up into her. Ginny kissed down Hermione's neck, licking and lightly sucking the supple, soft skin as she went.

Showering Hermione's chest with kisses, Ginny licked a path between the brunette's breasts, loving how she could feel her heart beating faster and her breaths getting more shallow. Her mouth and tongue captured a nipple, never tiring of the sensation or the taste, her hand making sure the other breast wasn't left out. _I could get lost with her breasts, _Ginny thought; a thought she'd had before.

Hermione had her hands buried in the red hair before her, holding and keeping Ginny attached to her chest. Every kiss, every suck, every touch sending sparks to her groin.

Ginny raised herself up and looked Hermione in the eyes again, before kissing her on the lips tenderly. _If I'm going to do this, I need to think about it now, _thought Ginny. _I hope I get it right._

Sensing a little nervousness, Hermione broke the kiss, "Anything wrong?" she asked.

Ginny shook her head, "No...I...I just want to do it right, that's all," she said blushing.

"You'll be fine," said Hermione, her eyes sparkling, alive with emotion and desire. "Instincts!" she smiled.

_I love her, _thought Ginny, echoing a thought she'd had before, _so love her! _

Holding a hand to a soft cheek, Ginny kissed Hermione gently, and gradually began to slide a hand down the brunette's body, loving the feel of her curves and the almost trembling flesh beneath her fingers. As she moved a hand down to cup Hermione's mound, the brunette gave a little gasp at the contact.

Slowly Ginny moved her fingers into the warm, moist folds of Hermione's sex, immediately hypnotized by what she was feeling, and how Hermione rolled her hips against her questing hand, seeking the friction she needed. She had no trouble in finding Hermione's clit, it was proud and hard, throbbing for her touch. _Shit! _Ginny thought, _this is so bloody sexy!_

Thinking of how Hermione had touched her and what it felt like, and how she had pleasured herself when masturbating in the past, Ginny set a rhythm, circling her lover's clit with firm rubs and strokes, frequently switching between short strokes and longer ones to feel the length of Hermione's sex. She continued to kiss Hermione, adoring how she swallowed her moans of pleasure.

After a while, Ginny kissed her way to Hermione's ear, feeling bolder and more in control by the moment. "Want me inside, now?" she whispered, breathily, briefly nibbling the ear lobe. The very words and thoughts about that, made Ginny herself feel as if she was going to melt. She felt a trickle of her own wetness gather again, and hitched a breath.

"Yes...please," panted Hermione, as her hand found Ginny's as it pleasured her. It was almost as if Hermione was still trying to believe that this was really happening, that it was really Ginny's hand there and not her own in some masturbation fantasy she'd created or another lucid dream.

With Hermione's hand lightly resting on top of her own, Ginny moved her hand lower, and as she easily entered Hermione with two fingers, she looked into the brunette's eyes, mesmerized by everything. Hermione sighed at the contact, her hips rising up, her inner walls starting to grip Ginny's fingers.

It didn't take Ginny long to find a rhythm with her fingers, in and out, the heel of her hand rubbing against Hermione's clit. She could feel Hermione grip her fingers more and she knew that her lover was close to release.

Keeping the steady, firm rhythm with her hand, Ginny kissed Hermione deeply, before then kissing her way to a breast. Hermione's hips were nearly bucking, and as Ginny took a nipple into her mouth, rubbing her tongue over it and sucking on it, Hermione climaxed, moaning Ginny's name loudly. Her whole body was trembling and Ginny could feel her fingers deep within Hermione being squeezed and held. The brunette's body was covered in a sheen of sweat, her cheeks flushed, eyes closed and she looked utterly stunning.

Ginny hovered over Hermione as the brunette tried to come down from her high. She kissed her, very softly. "I love you, Hermione."

Hermione opened her eyes, which were still dark with desire and passion. Those eyes soon sparkled with tears, and yet she smiled and brought Ginny down for another kiss. "I love you too, Ginny. My gods, I love you."

Both tired and sated, Ginny moved to lie down close up to Hermione, pulling the quilt over them both so they didn't freeze. She wrapped an arm around Hermione's waist, and Hermione held her back. It was several minutes before either could really say anything. And despite both wondering if they would feel awkward or uncomfortable, they actually felt liberated and fairly at ease with themselves and the situation, even if all the words weren't quite there yet.

"So, that was all right then?" asked Ginny. She was only half worried she was crap in bed, because she could tell that Hermione had certainly felt pleasure.

"All right?" Hermione chuckled. "It was more than all right! How about you?"

"Very all right!"

"Listen to us," laughed Hermione. "It sounds as though we're discussing a potions exam rather than a very wonderful, loving act we just shared together." She kissed Ginny on the cheek.

"I know we both talked about being careful with first times, and not rushing and that kind of thing," said Ginny, considering things. "But nothing about this feels wrong, does it?"

"Not to me. And one of the things that makes it, well,..._right_, is the fact it really means something to both of us. It's not a drunken fumble. "

"Exactly. It's...it's the most amazing thing, I've ever...done," said Ginny, haltingly.

"It's the same for me. To touch you, to be touched back, to love you and be loved back...it's an incredible feeling," said Hermione.

"I was sure I'd mess things up," said Ginny, a little shyly. "However, I kind of let my instincts take over. I love you, so I told myself to love you. I think it worked."

Hermione moved so she could kiss Ginny on the lips. "It worked. It worked very well indeed." Ginny gave a little laugh in reply. "What?"

"I was just thinking about everything that's happened to us," the redhead said. "I never thought back when I begged you to take me with you, that we'd be here now, naked in bed having just slept together!"

"That's certainly a thought that never entered my mind," said Hermione, with a beaming smile. "I'm glad we found each other, and I'm so glad we're together."

Ginny rested her head near to Hermione's shoulder and pressed a kiss to the skin nearest to her, as her hand traced lazy patterns across Hermione's chest. "To think I can touch you, share so much with you...it's...it's amazing."

"Hmm, I think we're going to enjoy getting to know each other's bodies better," said a cheerful Hermione, not avoiding a blush.

"I wish more than ever that we didn't have to go back to that blasted Battle," said Ginny, sounding tired. "I just want to be with you...to love you."

"I know, I'm feeling like that too, now." Hermione held Ginny tighter to her. "But we do have to go back and try and make this whole thing worth all the dangers we've faced. We're essentially the last hope. No wonder no one told us much about what was hinging on our success, it would have been way too much pressure."

"I'm being a little selfish, and wanting us to be together longer and left alone."

"Well, I suppose the best way to think, is to consider what Harry has said once or twice," said Hermione with a sigh. "We have something worth fighting for. And now we have each other, we have to fight on, so we can be together afterwards, without all the pain and loss that You Know Who has been inflicting for years."

"You're right," said Ginny. "We _do_ have something worthwhile to fight for. What on earth do Death Eaters hope to gain by winning? All they would be are lapdogs for You Know Who, which they are already. How is that world better than a world of free will and free thought?"

"It's something I've always wondered about bad guys," said Hermione. "Whether it's been in real history, books or films...what is so attractive about bowing and scraping to a mentally tapped dictator who's just as likely to kill you as they are to kill the opposition? Always feeling on edge and not knowing if your master has tired of you, or another baddie has usurped your place and lied about you. What is the point? What is the attraction to that kind of world?"

"No idea," answered Ginny. "I suppose that's why most bad guys and their leaders are a few bricks short of a wall." Ginny couldn't avoid a yawn.

"Let's get some sleep," said Hermione. "We can decide on when we leave and all that kind of thing tomorrow."

Ginny cuddled up closer to Hermione and raised her head to place a kiss on her lips. "I love you." _Whew, I've slept with Hermione! _she thought, amused. _I don't know why I was ever worried about not knowing what to do? I think I managed VERY well indeed. _

"I love you, Ginny," said Hermione, loving how the words sounded between them. _Merlin's beard! I've slept with Ginny! s_he thought, _how did that happen? Nevermind, I'm bloody glad it did! Bad dreams? What bad dreams? _That last thought made her smile at how things had changed so dramatically from earlier in the night.

Both settled down, almost immediately, into a peaceful sleep with no twisted dreams awaiting them.

**A/N: Have I made several people happy? ;) I wrote this chapter a while ago, and looked forward to when it was time to post it. **

**In this chapter I had a little, comical protest against a lot of other sexual stories. The 'intact' part. I get a bit tired/bored of reading first-time sex in any format where it sounds like penetration has to be made through the equivalent of several layers of kevlar, followed by blood everywhere and pain akin to having a limb torn off. A large proportion of young women are like Hermione and Ginny in my story...where certain sports or activities have already solved that particular issue. :D **


	56. The Morning After

**A/N: This is the first of a couple of 'preparation' chapters. They might seem a little dull, perhaps, but they have their place and add to the overall story and characters. Besides which, you can't have action or big surprises in every single chapter...I'm only human. :)**

56: The Morning After

Ginny awoke, aware that the room was a little lighter, before being briefly surprised that she was completely naked under the bedcovers. Like a row of dominoes clattering into each other, thoughts came to her at speed. _I'm naked because I slept with Hermione last night...really slept, not snore-slept, but sex-slept! Eek! Which means, she's still naked next to me...unless..._

She suddenly felt doubt in her mind. Doubt that her memories were real, and even when she quickly asserted that they were, she was filled with doubt over whether Hermione would be regretting it. For some reason she considered that Hermione might be feeling regret and be in such turmoil that she had left and slept in the other room.

_Why am I doubting it all? After what we said to each other last night? After what we did? _she wondered to herself. Her conscience answered: **Because nothing ever goes right and certainly not lately. Every good thing always seems to be blotted out by a load of bad.**

What didn't help the matter was the fact that during the night Ginny had apparently moved away from Hermione and turned over, so she was lying on her side facing the outside of the bed, she would have to turn to see if Hermione was still there. The bed was big enough that from where she was she couldn't tell if someone was lying next to her or not.

The redhead prepared herself to turn, or at least to peep up into the dressing table mirror to answer her burning question. _Just look! _she thought, annoyed with herself. She took a deep breath, and exhaled it much louder than she intended, sounding like a desperate sigh, which made her feel even more pathetic.

However, Ginny flinched dramatically when she suddenly felt movement and an arm wind around her waist and a warm, naked body cuddle up close to her back. _She's still here! _Ginny thought, happily. _I'm such a idiot sometimes!_

Hermione had felt the flinch when she had wrapped her arm around Ginny, and she herself experienced a degree of doubt. _Does she regret it? _she thought, _doesn't she want me to touch her this morning? Thinking and worrying about it, isn't going to get me anywhere. _"Everything okay, Ginny?" she asked.

Ginny let out a small relieved sigh and felt herself melt back into Hermione's embrace. "Yeah...it is now."

"It wasn't before?" Hermione asked in a soft voice.

"I...I wasn't sure...I wasn't sure you'd still be here?"

"_Why_ would you think that?"

"I thought...maybe you felt uncomfortable or something...about last night...it sounds silly now...now that I know you're here, but...I don't know," Ginny sighed again. "I was so happy, and I suppose part of me thought I'd have to have some pain to pay for it...,"

Hermione held Ginny tighter, spooning her from behind, placing a kiss on a bare shoulder, burying her nose in the red hair before her. "I'm not going anywhere, Ginny," she said. "I meant what I said. I love you and making love with you was the most incredible thing I've ever done."

Only mildly annoyed with herself, Ginny felt tears burning in her eyes and tried hard to leave them unshed, but she couldn't and her breath hitched as she felt a wash of emotions hit her.

"Hey," said Hermione. "What's wrong?"

"I don't know," said Ginny, feeling an overwhelming sensation spreading through her chest. "Nothing...I just feel...very in love with you. I think that's all...and a little stupid for thinking you might not be here this morning. Actually...I feel _very _stupid."

Hermione placed light kisses along Ginny's shoulder and the side of her neck. Ginny was so blown away by the deep emotions going through her that she couldn't begin to describe them; but she felt a certainty that she wanted the brunette. She wanted to feel again what they'd felt last night.

Ginny placed her hand over Hermione's, which was wrapped around her waist, and moved it up to her breast, squeezing over the hand so that it was obvious she wanted Hermione to touch her. Hermione kneaded the breast in her hand, lightly stroked the nipple, then tugged at it and caught it between her fingers, pinched it tenderly between thumb and finger, and all the while she was kissing Ginny's neck and shoulder, occasionally licking at an earlobe.

The redhead had begun to push back into Hermione, loving the feel of the brunette's breasts against her back. She wanted so much more, though. Turning onto her back, Ginny immediately had her lips captured by Hermione's. The kiss was almost fierce with need for each other, as Ginny ran her hand up and down Hermione's body, feeling the swell of a breast and the curve of her hips, running a hand over a smooth buttock.

Hermione kissed her way to Ginny's neck, finding a place that made the redhead squirm and release a breathy moan. Again their lips met, as Hermione caressed a breast once more. Ginny had begun moving her hips, unknowingly, her body seeking some relief. Almost without thought, Hermione placed her knee between Ginny's thighs and immediately the redhead moved herself against it, sighing with the friction it provided in all the right places.

The brunette herself had begun to ride Ginny's thigh. She could feel Ginny's desire on her own thigh, and knew she was leaving a similar trail herself. It turned them both on beyond comprehension.

Ginny slid a hand between them and slipped her fingers in between Hermione's legs, both of them moaning from the contact. They kissed passionately and deeply, as Ginny moved her exploring hand in a knowing rhythm. In mere moments, Hermione moved a hand to Ginny's centre giving her the same attention. Both women were breathing faster, and emitting little moans, their bodies reacting to each other's touch. Almost at the same time, they entered each other.

Hermione could feel the wonderful burning sensation at her core, and could feel Ginny's inner walls begin to grip her. With her free hand, Hermione cupped Ginny's cheek. "Together," she said in a breathless voice, full of passion. "Let's...together...,"

Ginny had closed her eyes, but opened them at the sound of Hermione's voice. Eyes dark with desire, met eyes dark with desire. "I'm close," said Ginny, and she could feel Hermione gripping her deeply embedded fingers too.

"Come with me, Ginny," said Hermione, before she connected her lips to her lover's. Her hand worked faster, as did Ginny's.

In moments both had to break off as they moaned and panted, riding the other's hand as they both began to climax. As Hermione felt herself reach the edge, she moaned Ginny's name loudly and it pushed Ginny over the edge too.

They both rolled their hips, seeking every last ounce from their climax, feeling intoxicated by what they were feeling, hearing and seeing. After several moments, their bodies twitching and making every attempt to hold onto the fingers held within them, and with their breaths laboured, they finally nearly collapsed, with Hermione on top of Ginny. A few minutes passed before either could find any words.

Hermione placed a kiss to the soft skin of Ginny's chest, upon which she was resting her head. "I love you so much," she said.

Ginny wrapped her arms around Hermione, holding her. "I love you, Hermione."

"That was a different way to wake up," Hermione chuckled.

"The best morning I've ever had. And I've had a couple of decent ones in recent days."

"I've never felt so good," admitted Hermione, then she felt a little shy. "I've never, you know...had such good...thingies."

"Me neither," said Ginny, oddly not feeling as embarrassed as she thought she would, before adding, "I suppose it's not so good, when you're on your own."

Hermione raised herself up to look at her lover, smirked and blushed a little. "Yes...well, I'd agree with that."

Ginny gave a laugh, leaned forward and pressed her lips to Hermione's, before giving a chortle again. "What?" asked the brunette.

"I just had this weird image in my head," said Ginny, trying hard to suppress her giggle, to get her words out. "Of you...relieving yourself..in..in the library!"

Hermione gave a horrified expression, then cracked up laughing herself. "That's something that's never happened...believe me! I only ever read books in there."

"Hey, don't ruin my fantasy!" said Ginny.

"Fantasy? You have a fantasy of me in the library?"

"Well, only since just now." Ginny stopped a moment and thought of Hermione's recent dream of finding her with Harry in the library. "I know you dreamed of me in the library with Harry, but I can assure you I've never thought about doing anything risky in that place with anyone until now."

"So what fantasy have you just invented, then?" asked Hermione, amused and intrigued, and not wanting to dwell on her recent dreams.

"Hmm," said Ginny. "I'm looking for you, I need help with some homework. I know you're in the library and you're probably at the back of the Restricted Section, at one of the desks. I walk there to find you, and when I do you're sat back in a chair, with your legs spread, skirt out of the way and your fingers busy between your legs, seeking that longed for release to your ache. I sit next to you and add my hand to yours and...help you out...," Ginny wiggled her fingers, which were still between Hermione's legs.

Hermione sighed, knowing Ginny could now feel her renewed desire. "Oh! That's some fantasy."

"You liked it?" Ginny almost whispered.

"Too much," said Hermione as she too moved her fingers against Ginny.

In no time at all, both young women were grinding their hips, riding each other's hands again and falling over the edge of another strong orgasm.

After some time and finally physically separating themselves from the other, only after some more tender, loving kisses, they decided to get up for the day. They both went to the bathroom, where Hermione made the bathtub a bit bigger and they shared a bath together, just enjoying washing each other's hair and bodies.

As they got dried and then dressed back in the bedroom, Hermione sat on the end of the bed, brushing her hair. "Do you feel different?" she asked suddenly.

"How do you mean?" asked Ginny, as she put on some socks.

"Do you feel different, since we slept together?"

"Yes," said Ginny without hesitation.

"I do too."

"It's hard to explain," said Ginny. "Other than, it's like I can hear better, see better, touch better...it's like I've opened up a part of me I wasn't sure existed before. Does that make sense?"

"It does," said Hermione. "It's sort of what I'm feeling. I suppose some people would disagree with the terminology, but to me, I've lost my virginity to you."

"I feel the same," said Ginny. "I totally feel like I've given myself to you, completely. And...and now it's happened, I couldn't think of ever having lost it to anyone else. What we shared, felt so right..._feels_ so right. It's like I'm connected to you." She walked to where Hermione was sitting and leaned down to kiss her, before hugging her tightly. "I love you."

Hermione's eyes sparkled with the threat of tears, but she only smiled the broadest most genuine smile she had ever given. "I love you Ginny. Very very, much. My life is going to be so much better with you in it as my...lover, partner, whatever you want to call it."

"I suppose people will find out eventually," said Ginny, as she sat next to Hermione.

"Yes. It might be difficult. A lot of people won't be happy...it could be a very tough road."

"We'll have to pick our moment, when we feel ready, providing we even get a moment and the world even exists once we have a go at Dumbledore's plan."

"We'll have to be prepared that things might never be the same with our friends, or family," said Hermione, sadly.

Ginny got hold of Hermione's hand. "I'm not going to stop seeing you or leave you, just because other people can't understand it, or don't like it. I know it will be tough...but I love you. You're worth any of that nonsense. I don't need anyone but you."

"Thank you," said Hermione, feeling teary all over again. "We'll be together. I'll fight for us. You make everything worth fighting for."

"In one of my many odd dreams, I had one where Harry made me choose which door to leave the dream by," said Ginny.

"Which _door_?"

"Yeah, there were two doors, and he said the right door contained a normal, contented ordinary life, and the left door held many difficulties and obstacles, but it would offer me the chance of immense happiness if I could find it. I thought it was a little bit of garbled crap in my head...but thinking on it, I think it was my mind telling me something."

"Which door did you choose?" asked Hermione.

"At the time I was a bit bored so thinking the left door would lead me to a fight or to something I could smack around a bit, I chose the left."

"What did Harry say?"

"He was disappointed. I'm beginning to think the right hand door was a life with him or in the real world at least a very ordinary life with some guy, marriage, kids and a dog, type of thing."

"So, did you see what the left hand door held?"

"Yes. I walked through and into my bedroom at the Burrow. You were there. I asked if we were planning something big and you threw your arms around my neck and kissed me," said Ginny with a huge smile.

"I did?" chuckled Hermione.

"This dream happened during the time I was still trying to get my dream-self to run from you. So I just thought it was my stressed mind which was always leading me to you and kisses. But now," said Ginny. "I think it was almost prophetic. I chose you, and in doing so I accepted that it might be difficult. However, I remember thinking that if I had to fight for something to achieve that happiness, that it would make it even more worthwhile."

"Hmm, that _is_ interesting," said Hermione. "I hope we don't have too many difficulties and obstacles, though."

"It doesn't matter," said Ginny, almost surprising herself. "You're worth it, and bugger what anyone else thinks. I'll always fight for you."

Hermione hugged Ginny tightly, then kissed her. "You're bloody amazing, you know that?"

"Oh god, not compliments again?" laughed Ginny, getting up. "Come on let's have some breakfast. I've worked up an appetite."

"I mean it," said Hermione.

"Okay, okay, I'm amazing and incredible," said Ginny, pulling a face. "I'll never be as amazing as you, so let's just agree we're both wonderful witches, we love each other and we're going to get some breakfast."

Hermione rolled her eyes. "Agreed."

XXXXXXXXXX

The two women spent a very leisurely morning, almost allowing everything to be in slow motion. They spent ages over breakfast, ages over washing up; they looked at some more books in Dumbledore's study, looking at the huge increase in titles since they had been there in 1945.

After a light lunch, they went back to the study to look through some more books. Hermione was wondering if she would come across anything useful in the line of spells or charms that they might be able to use once they got back to Hogwarts.

It was in the afternoon that Hermione reached the conclusion that Dumbledore hadn't been to the house in a long while, because she couldn't find a book or piece of paper dated past 1981. "Wait," she said out loud. "1981?"

"What about it?" asked Ginny.

"I can't find any book or any date after 1981."

"Is that significant?"

"It's the year Harry's parents were killed."

"Oh! Of course," said Ginny. "So, you're thinking that Dumbledore hasn't been back here since the...,"

"Yes, I don't think he's been back since the night they were killed."

"I don't know why, but that's made me feel a chill," said Ginny.

"Hmm, me too," said Hermione. "There could be many reasons why he didn't come back here after then. Hmm...nevermind, nothing about that is useful to us."

There were several minutes of silence, filled only with the occasional sound of a page being turned in a book. However, Ginny wasn't able to concentrate on the book she had in front of her, as her mind was elsewhere, unavoidably elsewhere now. "Hermione?"

"Hmm?" answered the brunette as she looked up from her own book.

"We haven't spoken much about it yet, but," Ginny paused. "When are we going back?"

Hermione was silent for a moment as she'd been thinking it herself; it didn't surprise her that Ginny was thinking the same thing. They had reached the point where they couldn't avoid it any longer. "I don't know," she said. "We need to agree on when we're ready."

"I love being here with you," said Ginny. "I wish I could stay here forever. It's just that I know what's hanging over us. It's not going to go away, however many timelines we cross to try and escape it."

"You're right," sighed Hermione. "I do feel the same way about it all."

"Because I know what we have to do - that huge bloody crazy thing Dumbledore has planned - I just want to get it done," Ginny said, then looked down at her hands as they rested on the open book. "We know what we have to try and do, it won't take long to refresh ourselves, so...what about tomorrow? If you need longer we'll take longer. We both need to feel ready."

"Tomorrow," Hermione said, before swallowing hard, almost as if she was trying to swallow the information. "Yes."

"Are you sure?" asked Ginny, looking up.

"No," said Hermione, smiling. "But we've never felt completely ready for any of the tasks we've undertaken so far. Not everything can be planned. All we can do is know what we have to do and feel like we have the energy to try it. So, I'm ready to go back tomorrow, if you are?"

Ginny could feel a sensation in her stomach which she recognized as pre-quidditch match nerves, only a little stronger than that. It decided it for her that tomorrow would indeed be their day of reckoning. Accepting it, made her accept those nerves as necessary to function, to feel alert. "Tomorrow it is."

Hermione closed her book with a light slapping noise. "Okay, no time like the present to go over what we need to do." They put their books back on the shelf and sat back down at the desk, opposite each other.

"I suppose," began Ginny. "We need to think of the first few seconds of appearing back in the Headmaster's Office with McGonagall."

"Kingsley had just burst in fighting off two Death Eaters, and McGonagall was injured on the floor."

"As we said before, we need to have our wands ready and need to cast a protective charm straight away," said Ginny.

"I'll cast a _Protego Maxima _while you should take out one of the Death Eaters," suggested Hermione. "We can't worry too much about more explosions around the Office, as the immediate danger was entering it."

"That's a good start. If it goes to plan and we get rid of the Death Eater threat, then we need to take a look at McGonagall. She'll want to know that we're back, anyway."

"She will," agreed Hermione. "But more importantly, that we're back after a _successful_ 'trip', not just back because we couldn't do anything."

"Righty-ho," said Ginny. "So after that, we need to make our way to the Great Hall."

"I think that will be wands out and living on our nerves," said Hermione. "I don't think we can plan much about that, because we have no idea what awaits us outside the Office."

"Okay we'll skip that, and just assume it's in the territory of being bloody difficult!"

Hermione had to give a little laugh to that. "It's really what to do once we reach the Great Hall."

"First we have to check if Harry has the Cloak," said Ginny. "Hopefully he has, Dumbledore seems certain he has it."

"I think he does know. It sounds like Dumbledore's been an invisible observer at a lot of moments since June 1997."

"That's almost a little creepy in itself, but thank goodness he did, or there would be much more guesswork," said Ginny, before she then laughed. "I hope he wasn't observing last night in the bedroom!"

"Why did you have to say that?" groaned a slightly blushing but amused Hermione.

"Only a thought."

"Urgh!" Hermione exclaimed. "Anyway," she said, trying to regain her composure. "We'll assume Harry has the Cloak. I think we'll take Dumbledore's advice and use it to cover us."

"Won't that look strange if we're standing there one moment then getting under the Cloak with Harry's body the next?"

"There's a couple of options for that. We could cause a distraction to make people look elsewhere, or simply say we need to look in Harry's pockets because we think he had a vital...a vital...whatnot...thingy..."

"What could he have that would be so vital, that we need to find it?" said Ginny, more to herself than anything. "He might have...a...a...GOT IT!"

"What?"

"We have to search his pockets because we think he might have another horcux...an unknown one or something, but we need to look without anyone else seeing if we find it," said Ginny, with a grin.

"That sounds good enough to me...although...," Hermione made a face, as she knew the best person to tell to allow them the space. "It will be best if we're able to find Ron in the Great Hall and tell him about it. He knows about the horcruxes, where everyone else except McGonagall and perhaps Flitwick, don't, and we'd only confuse people over what they are. Ron might even keep watch so no one can trip over us as we use the Cloak."

"I know we're not looking forward to facing Ron for other reasons," said Ginny, in a serious tone. "But, I think we have to focus on what we need to do and leave the complicated things alone for now."

"Yes...yes," Hermione nodded. "It's still going to feel weird and disconcerting, but you're absolutely right, we need to put our minds to Harry and what we've got to do."

"So, we're covered with the Cloak," stated Ginny. "We slide the Ring onto a finger. We pour the liquid potion wotsit into the Cup and get some into Harry's mouth," she paused, feeling very strange about the whole idea of essentially interferring with Harry's body. "It's going to feel weird and very wrong...,"

"I know, but we'll be there together...we'll do this together."

"Hmm."

"Anyway, we get the liquid...we use...," said Hermione, faltering as she too had uncomfortable thoughts about it. "We use the Cup and then hopefully he'll awaken...or come alive, or whatever it is he's going to do."

"Will he even be coherent when he comes round?" asked Ginny. "Has he been somewhere after he died? Because it almost sounded to me like he was trapped somewhere and couldn't get back?"

"I really don't know. It _did_ sound a bit like that when Dumbledore spoke about it. Almost like Harry was stuck somewhere dead, behind a locked door and he'd forgotten the key, which in this case was a fully working Resurrection Stone and having possession of the Wand."

"From that, we assume that when he wakes up, he'll be himself and not too dazed?"

"Dumbledore seemed to be saying that Harry should have risen back from the dead, and would have been ready to fight You Know Who whenever it happened. From that, I'm assuming Harry will be ready to fight almost straight away."

"I think that's something we won't know until it happens," said Ginny in a quiet, thoughtful voice. "I think it might be best to assume that Harry will be fit enough to fight at some point very close to his awakening, even if it might be a few minutes or a little longer. When he _is _back to being alert we can then get him to take the Wand from me."

"Okay, that basically covers it," said a business-like Hermione. "I don't think we can plan further, because we don't know where You Know Who will be or when. Our main objective is to get Harry back."

"Well, I'm clear on everything, are you?"

"I think so," said Hermione. "Dumbledore was mostly right about it being simple, simple-ish, anyway."

"We'll just have to take each part in sections and hope we get past each potential obstacle."

"Were you going to use your own wand when we arrive there, or the Elder one?"

"I honestly haven't thought about that," replied Ginny. "I'd nearly forgotten that I'm the current owner of the Wand. Bloody hell that's bizarre!"

"It will make your spells more powerful, but...,"

"I know, I'm in very great danger of losing it, if I get involved in any serious duels."

"I've only just thought about that problem," said Hermione, rubbing her forehead. "I think you could beat anyone you wanted to, but there's always a risk...Draco Malfoy disarming Dumbledore was a huge surprise. All right, slight change of plan. When we arrive, you cast _Protego Maxima _and I'll assist Kingsley with the Death Eaters."

"I think that's a very good idea," agreed Ginny. "I should have less risk of losing the Wand if I'm not actively fighting someone."

"We might both have to on the way to the Great Hall, but we'll be on the move and it will be easier to dodge things."

"Hmm. I think I'll use my own wand...it just doesn't feel right to use the Elder. I'm only like a temporary guardian of it," decided Ginny.

"Actually, it also means the Wand has less chance of being blown up like Harry's was, if it's safe up your sleeve."

Hermione looked at her watch and saw it was approaching 6pm; they had been in the study most of the day, with the books and then going through the plan which they had to carry out. They had some dinner, which was a nice lasagne, courtesy of the Hogwarts elves, before going through their almost automatic mode of sorting out the items they needed for the next day, and making sure the items they needed most from Hermione's beaded bag were easily accessible with the _Accio _spell; they used it several times to make sure.


	57. The Morning Before

**A/N: This chapter contains a bit of mature stuff again. I like to think it's not gratification and is certainly not distasteful, and is in keeping with the characters and the story. ;) This chapter sort of adds to the enormity of the situation to follow. :)**

57: The Morning Before

Hermione and Ginny made sure that they had everything packed; they didn't have to worry about checking the rooms the next day, as this particular stay they had only been in the study and kitchen downstairs and the bathroom and their bedroom upstairs, which meant they could focus on more important things.

They went upstairs to bed, both going to brush their teeth in the bathroom. It was when Ginny got back to the bedroom and looked for her T'Shirt and bottoms to sleep in that Hermione got up and went to stand in front of her.

"You won't need those," said Hermione, with a smile.

"Won't I?"

"No. Unless you don't want me tonight?" Hermione whispered, "Or you don't want me to hold you close and feel your bare skin next to mine?"

Ginny's breath caught in her throat. She had thought and hoped they might be 'close' again tonight, but wondered if it would be after they got into bed. So far she just stood there, knowing she was wearing a faint blush and probably a gawky expression with it.

Hermione put her arms around the redhead, looking into her eyes. "I'll take that as permission," she said in a amused voice. She leaned in and kissed Ginny, softly, breaking only to turn her head to the other side and resume the slow sexy connection of their lips.

Their kisses became deeper, tongues searching out the other, teasing, coaxing, tangling. Hermione lowered her hands and reached the hem of Ginny's top and lifted it, helping her lover to remove the garment over her head. Once discarded, Ginny undid the buttons on Hermione's shirt, leaning in to kiss her lips, her neck and then helping her off with the whole thing.

More confidently than her first try, Ginny put her arms around Hermione and unhooked her bra, immediately putting her hands forward to cup the breasts that soon became free to her gaze and the air. She couldn't resist lowering her head and kissing each breast and briefly sucked on each nipple; the brunette was already breathing faster. Ginny didn't get long to savour her prize, as Hermione raised her up and reached around her to undo the redhead's bra, before she also momentarily worshipped the breasts before her. They kissed passionately again, before Hermione moved to Ginny's neck, sucking and nipping at the soft flesh, Ginny's arms around her, rubbing her hands across her bare back.

Hermione gradually moved lower, leaving a trail of caressing kisses to Ginny's breasts, kissing the nipples again, holding and squeezing each breast, giving them equal attention. She kissed the sensitive skin under Ginny's breasts and left kisses on her toned stomach, even sticking her tongue into Ginny's navel, until she was kneeling before the woman, having reached the waist of her jeans.

Ginny was aware that Hermione had stopped, and looked down, to see her looking back up at her. Hermione gave a very sexy smile, before she unbuttoned Ginny's jeans and pulled the zip down. "I wanted to undress you properly," she said, her voice thick with passion.

Tugging on the waist of the jeans, Hermione leaned forward and kissed the new flesh exposed to her. With a little help from Ginny they discarded her jeans. Hermione, was still kneeling as she wrapped her arms around Ginny, holding her backside, and pressed kisses to her lower stomach, and even pressed kisses to the outside of the girl's underwear. She could smell Ginny's arousal, and it made her feel her own desire gather between her legs. Slowly, Hermione pulled down Ginny's underwear, pressing kisses to the woman's mound, loving the feel of that once hidden auburn hair, soft against her lips and face.

_Merlin's beard this is bloody sexy!_ thought Ginny, as she almost struggled to keep standing. She put her hands on Hermione's shoulders to steady herself, as her underwear was taken off_. Shit, she hasn't even touched me properly yet, and I'm already swaying, what the hell will happen when she... _"Ohhhh!"

Hermione had pressed her mouth between Ginny's legs, licking and sucking at her most intimate place. The brunette sighed herself when she tasted Ginny and heard her moan, it seemed to spur her on to make the woman she loved feel even more pleasure.

The moment Ginny had felt Hermione's lips and tongue moving against her centre, she could feel her legs shake. "I need to...sit...lie...down," she managed to say. "Before I fall!"

Ginny felt an amazing tingling, vibrating sensation as Hermione laughed against her, before she broke off and prodded Ginny to the bed, the redhead almost falling back onto it as Hermione crawled up and hovered over her.

After another small trail of kisses down Ginny's body, Hermione knelt between Ginny's legs, holding her arm around one of her thighs as she lowered her head again, her goal spread before her with easier access.

Hermione let her tongue explore Ginny's nether lips, frequently brushing past, pressing against and loving the woman's clit. Ginny's hips kept moving to meet her tongue and it made Hermione almost want to tease her lover. However, as much as she would have liked to have been cheeky and mischievous, she couldn't deny herself or Ginny what they both sought.

"Shit...oh shit!" Ginny was moaning, never having felt something so good, her hands grabbing handfuls of the quilt she was lying on. _I thought her fingers were amazing...but her tongue! Fuck! _she thought, nearly incapable of thought or speech.

Moving her arm from around Ginny's thigh, Hermione relocated it upwards to hold and caress one of her lover's breasts, occasionally tugging on the nipple, as her other hand moved down, to slide her fingers inside Ginny, adding to the cascade of feelings the redhead was experiencing. Setting a steady rhythm with her fingers, Hermione continued to move her mouth against Ginny, loving her and lavishing her with her tongue and lips.

Ginny was nearly incoherent, feeling as though she couldn't take any more, the feelings were so powerful. She could feel her orgasm nearing, burning and spreading through her. Hermione could feel it too, and sped up her thrusting fingers, curling them slightly, hoping to reach that special place within her lover. She moaned against Ginny, knowing it added to the feelings and might push her over the edge.

"Shit! SHIT! HERM...I...ONEEEE!" moaned Ginny, as she climaxed hard. "Ohhhh shit!"

Hermione continued to move her mouth against Ginny, coaxing out every delicious moment of the orgasm, replacing her fingers with her tongue, lapping up her release, loving the taste of the woman. She felt a hand on her head, and looked up to see Ginny, panting, a blush to her face and chest, her hips and lower stomach muscles continuing to tremble.

"I can't...take...anymore!" panted Ginny. "God!"

Smiling broadly, Hermione placed a gentle kiss to the top of Ginny's mound, before moving up the bed and lying next to Ginny. She wrapped an arm around her, and kissed her, wondering if Ginny could taste herself on her lips. "I love you," she said, before pressing her lips to her for a bit longer.

"I love you," said Ginny, in a weak voice.

"Are you okay?"

"Yeah...yeah, just...wow," Ginny tried to get out, as her breathing slowly came back under control. "I never thought I could feel something as strongly as that...shit!"

"You liked it?"

"_Liked_ it?" laughed Ginny. "It felt bloody amazing." She felt her inner walls spasm again as she remembered the sensations she had so recently felt.

Hermione had noticed the slight movement and smiled, feeling a little proud that she had been the cause of it. "I must confess, that it was something I read about a long time ago and wondered about, in a purely heterosexual sense, at the time," she said, only slightly shy, before she quickly added, "Since we got together, I hoped I'd get the chance to do that to you one day."

"Ahh, so books helped after all?" asked an amused Ginny.

"In this case, yes."

"I bet they never put those type of books on the reading list for Hogwarts?" laughed Ginny, then moved her head, looking down the bed with a frown.

"Something wrong?" asked Hermione.

"Yes, actually," replied Ginny. "You're still wearing your trousers!"

"Oh, well...I got sidetracked by something, didn't I?"

"Hmm," said Ginny, as she moved and rolled on top of Hermione. "We'll have to do something about that, won't we?"

Ginny kissed Hermione deeply, already deciding that she wanted to do to Hermione, what the brunette had done to her. She oddly wasn't worried about it, she knew that her instincts would kick in and she knew what she had felt, and was confident she could give the same attention to Hermione.

As they kissed, Hermione ran her hands up and down Ginny's back, occasionally holding a firm buttock pressing the redhead to her. Ginny always seemed to be stalled when they kissed, she would never tire of their lips connecting. She kissed Hermione's neck, her hand moving to hold one of her lover's breasts, rubbing a thumb over an erect nipple. Her kisses moved lower, reaching the other breast, taking the nipple in her mouth, sucking, licking and flicking her tongue over it, making sure to give equal attention to both breasts.

Hermione knew that by the time Ginny had her completely naked, she would be wetter than ever. _Ginny will be lucky if she doesn't drown! _she thought, letting out a breathy sound which was half moan, half laugh.

Ginny kissed her way down Hermione's stomach, almost kissing a pattern across it, before she reached the waist and fly of the trousers. She moved herself to the side a little, before her fingers undid the fly, and they both helped to slide the trousers off. Ginny hooked her fingers into Hermione's underwear and slid those off too, before kneeling between the brunette's legs.

Looking up, meeting Hermione's eyes, dark with desire, Ginny ran her hands from the brunette's breasts, down her body and to the outside of her thighs, before running her hands along the inside of Hermione's thighs. Ginny lowered her head and kissed her lover's lower abdomen, before placing kisses to the top of her mound.

The redhead could smell Hermione's arousal and moved a hand down to gently trace a finger up and down her intimate folds. Both women gasped at the contact. "You're so wet," Ginny said in wonder.

"Your fault!" said Hermione, giving a breathy laugh.

Ginny lowered her head again and licked her tongue the length of Hermione's womanhood. She was mesmerized by the taste, the feeling and the obvious pleasure she was giving. Covering Hermione's clit with her mouth, she lightly sucked at it, rubbed her tongue over it, pressed it hard, licked it softly, all the while Hermione's hips moved to meet her tongue's movements.

As Hermione had done, Ginny naturally moved a hand up to hold one of Hermione's breasts, rubbing her palm over a hard nipple, as her other hand found it's way lower and two fingers of that hand entered the brunette. Sliding in and out of her lover steadily but firmly, also seeking that place of special pleasure within her, Ginny continued to love Hermione with her mouth too.

_Holy crap! _thought Hermione, as she nearly writhed on the bed. _No wonder she felt she couldn't take no more...this is incredible...this is... _"Ohh...shit!" she moaned. "I'm...I'm coming."

Ginny laughed against Hermione and licked harder and faster at her clit, feeling her fingers clenched and drawn deeper, as Hermione gave way to a strong climax, moaning Ginny's name loudly, fighting for breath. The redhead was enjoying her ability to make Hermione whimper, but knowing how incredible the feeling had been for herself, she slowed her movements down, gently removed her fingers, placed soft kisses to the insides of Hermione's thighs, and with a last kiss to her mound, she moved up the bed, to hold Hermione as she recovered.

After a few moments, Hermione leaned in and kissed Ginny. "I love you so much," she said in a quiet voice; she had tears in her eyes, with a tear rolling down her cheek.

Wiping the tear away, Ginny pressed a tender kiss to Hermione's lips. "I love you, Hermione. I love you with all that I am." Another tear left Hermione's eye as she clung tightly to Ginny. "Is something wrong?" she asked worried.

"No," said Hermione. "I thought last night and this morning were amazing, but I've never felt anything like I did just now. I think it's just my body going a little haywire."

"You're sure you're okay?"

"Yes. I've just made love with you, felt things I never thought possible." She kissed Ginny again, then gave a little titter. "To think you were ever worried that you wouldn't know what to do?"

Ginny blushed. "Well, it was a valid point at the time. I...I wanted to make you happy, and I...I don't know...I didn't want to disappoint you, or be so crap that you didn't want me and changed your mind about being with me at all."

"Ginny," said Hermione, in a serious voice now. "You make me very happy. I don't think you could ever disappoint me. And not want you? I'd have to be blind and stupid not to want you!"

The redhead couldn't find a thing to say in return, and felt her cheeks go warmer instead. Hermione saw the difficulty and simply kissed her, before she held her just as tenderly as Ginny had been holding herself. She jiffled them so they could get into bed properly, and then they returned to holding each other.

"Tomorrow is another day," said Hermione. "But tonight I get to hold you."

"I love you," said Ginny again.

"I love you too," said Hermione, as she placed another kiss on Ginny's lips. "Let's hope for a peaceful sleep. Night, Gin."

"Night Hermyhoney!"

Hermione gave a little snort of laughter. "I'd nearly forgotten about that!"

"I hadn't," said Ginny.

With a little more chuckling, they both settled together and drifted off to sleep.

XXXXXXXXXX

Despite the impending situation of going back to a wartorn Hogwarts and all the things they were hoping to achieve there, neither Ginny nor Hermione had any dreams. It was a restful night for both of them.

Hermione opened her eyes first, in the morning; she was lying on her side up against Ginny, who was lying on her back. Under the bedcovers, Hermione had her arm draped over the redhead with her hand on the girl's stomach. Ginny's head was turned away to the side, and she was still asleep.

For several minutes Hermione watched Ginny as she slept, taking in her relaxed, peaceful face, her delectable lips, how her hair was spread on the pillow, the rise and fall of her chest, and the swell of her breasts just visible out of the bedcovers. Hermione smiled as she looked at her, thinking about what they had shared together, and how she felt about it all. _Oddly,_ she thought, _it doesn't feel _odd!_ It feels natural between us, and I've never felt so at ease with someone in my whole life_. _Admittedly I'm only eighteen, so have a limited pool of people to compare it to, but I've never felt so close and able to trust someone like I do Ginny. Not even my parents! _

Ginny's eyes fluttered open, and she sighed as she woke up. Hermione pressed a kiss to Ginny's shoulder, making the girl smile and turn her head to face her.

"Morning gorgeous!" said Hermione, as she pressed a kiss to Ginny's cheek.

"Is that all I get?"

"Sorry!" said Hermione, giving a little chortle as she leaned over and kissed Ginny on the lips. "That better?"

"Thank you."

"No dreams?"

"None that I remember, how about you?" asked Ginny, as she linked her fingers with the hand Hermione had draped over her.

"Nothing, thankfully. I think we must have chased them away with all that moaning," said Hermione, unable to stop her cheeks from colouring even as she laughed.

Ginny laughed at that too. "Well, today's the day," she sighed.

"Yes," replied Hermione, feeling serious now. "Are you nervous?"

"I was yesterday, for a little while. But it felt like an exaggerated version of the nerves I get before playing a quidditch match. I've pushed them away as best I can...they're still there, just in the background. Are _you_ nervous?"

"I suppose so, in a way," said Hermione, considering. "It's more a wanting to get on with it type of thing...a sort of pre-alertness or something. I suppose the fight or flight feeling is more in fight mode for me at the moment."

"It feels like we've been away so long, it almost feels strange to be going back at all."

"We've had to do so much since we left. High stress things, plans upon plans to carry out."

"And once we get back, more plans and high stress," said Ginny. "If we get through all of this and get to the other side and somehow win, I think I'm going to go to bed for a week. No, make that two weeks!"

"Will you be doing this alone? Or can I join you?" asked Hermione with a smirk.

Ginny turned to face Hermione more and gave a big grin. "I'll book you a place."

"Then, we'll need another two weeks in bed to get over the first two weeks."

"Why?"

Hermione moved her hand along Ginny's side, past the curve of her hips and waist, and ended up holding a breast. "I'm not sure I can just sleep when I'm in bed with you, now," she almost whispered, her eyes sparkling with mischief.

"Really?"

"Yes, really."

"That's all right then," said Ginny. "Because I'm not sure I could just let _you_ sleep for two weeks either!"

Hermione leaned over and kissed Ginny, and what started off as a simple gentle kiss, soon deepened. The redhead placed a hand between them to rest on Hermione's breast, flexing her fingers, enjoying feeling the nipple harden under her touch.

After several moments, they broke off, looking at each other, as hands still caressed bare skin. Hermione slid her hand back down Ginny's side, and rested it on her hip. "I want you again," she said, her voice low and laden with emotion. "I want you once more before we go back."

Ginny felt tears gather in her eyes, and it appeared that she was then hit with the thought that she and Hermione might never get to make love again. _If things go badly, _she thought, _I'm not a pessimist, but it's one of the outcomes._

Moving her hand to Ginny's cheek, gently tracing the cheekbone with her thumb, Hermione looked at her, and she could feel tears in her own eyes, also thinking that it might be the last time they could be together like this. In a deep, almost telepathic understanding, Hermione inclined her head a couple of times as if nodding in agreement. "I know," she said. "I know what you're thinking."

Looking into each other's eyes a few moments longer, they suddenly joined their lips in a fierce kiss. It was needy, hungry, wanting and passionate. Hands roamed every piece of available soft skin; stroking, squeezing, kneading, rubbing and tracing patterns.

Hermione dipped her head to kiss Ginny's neck as she made her way to her lover's breasts. She worshipped them as always, using her mouth and hands, alternating between breasts as she tugged, pinched and rubbed one nipple with her fingers and thumb, and her mouth and tongue sucked and licked at the other; even lightly raking her teeth over the erect flesh, blowing cold air over it, wanting Ginny to feel everything she could think of.

Ginny had a hand in Hermione's hair, holding the back of her head as she loved her breasts. She moved the hand to pull Hermione back up to her lips, before she then lavished her own attentions on Hermione's breasts. As she licked and flicked her tongue over a nipple and sucked firmly, she could feel the slightest of movements from Hermione's hips.

The two women were still sort of lying on their sides as they made love, and as Ginny kissed her way back up to Hermione's neck, kissing and nipping at the soft skin as she went, she smoothed a hand down Hermione's side, past her hip, grabbing the back of her thigh as she lifted the leg slightly and slotted her own between them, giving Hermione something to grind herself against, as she wrapped her leg around Ginny's.

Their breaths becoming shallower and their kisses just as urgent, Ginny could feel Hermione against her leg, feel her desire. With very little thought she placed a hand between them and began to rub her fingers against the place Hermione needed her most, the brunette moaning into her mouth as they continued to kiss.

In moments it was Ginny's turn to sigh with pleasure, as she felt Hermione's hand and fingers find their way between her own legs. They mirrored each other's movements; when Ginny stroked at Hermione faster, Hermione also worked her fingers faster; when Ginny entered her lover with two fingers, she felt herself entered too.

They still kissed, but as they both felt their orgasms begin to build, they broke their kiss and looked into each other's eyes as their hands worked to bring them to their climax. Both women could begin to feel their inner walls spasm, and as they both went over the edge, they tried hard to retain eye contact, watching their lover fall into that abyss.

As the two young women came down from their high, and slowly withdrew their fingers from each other, Hermione leaned over and kissed Ginny, nibbling gently at her lips. "You're so beautiful when you...you know," said the brunette.

"So are you," said Ginny. "You nearly glow."

"When you do, I've never seen you look more alive," said Hermione.

They didn't seem to be done for the morning yet, as Ginny rolled on top of Hermione and kissed her way down the brunette's body, kneeling between her legs to enjoy and love her once more with her mouth and fingers. Hermione repaid the same attentiveness in kind; every touch, every kiss, every ounce of pleasure given and received being treasured and full of meaning for them both

Once sated and calmed down, the women shared another tender kiss and were silent for a few minutes. Ginny was thinking about their morning, and once more thought on the idea that it might possibly be the last time they had together, if things at Hogwarts went badly. She found that she couldn't think in that way now, it scared her; she knew of the possibility, but didn't want to consider it.

"Hermione?"

"Hmm?"

"I refuse to think that this morning is the last time we'll sleep together," said Ginny in a soft voice. She could feel Hermione tense up and attempt to reply, but she didn't let her. "I _know _it's possible that either one of us might not make it, or none of us do, of course I know that, but I can't _think_ like that. I can't."

"No one knows what will happen once we return, a lot of it could be out of our control," replied Hermione. "Even if Dumbledore had some idea about it all, he certainly didn't give any hints that everything would _definitely_ work out."

"I have to be positive. I can't dwell on it. I have to believe we'll be together in some way, or...or I don't think I can function and do what we need to do. To me, I'm not just fighting for the good side of the magical world, I'm fighting for you. And I know that sounds incredibly selfish."

Hermione held Ginny tighter to her. "I understand, I do. It's how _I_ feel, now. All we can do is try the challenges we have ahead, and try with everything we have, and hope it's enough."

"I know," sighed Ginny. "I know. And that's what we'll do."

They held each other for a while longer, before finally making a move and sharing a bath again; enjoying their last intimate moments together. Then they dressed in the clothes they'd been wearing when they left the Battle at Hogwarts.

After managing a light breakfast of cereal, the two witches made sure everything in the house was back in place and they did a last check and run through of their plan, including access to the items they needed from Hermione's beaded bag. Although they had checked the access issue many times, they wanted to make perfectly sure. Ginny also made certain, more than once, that the Elder Wand was secure up her sleeve.

As Hermione put the Cup back into her beaded bag, she paused, stared at her bag and then looked up at Ginny, before reaching into her bag again, rummaging, then pulling out a box. "I want you to wear this," she said.

Ginny recognized the box and opened it to check she was right. There in front of her was the necklace of Andrasta, which they'd bought from Borgin & Burkes. "Do you really believe it has powers?"

"Dumbledore seemed to think it has at least small protective properties. I want you to wear it to...to add to your protection, in case it does work, even if it only protects you from a bogey hex," said Hermione, trying to keep the subject light.

"You think I need protection?" asked Ginny, narrowing her eyes.

"Actually, no," said Hermione. "I think you could beat me and most of the Order, at the same time, but I just want you to be as protected as possible. You're carrying THE Wand now, and we don't want it taken or its ownership altered from some minor charm that we couldn't avoid. And also...because I can't...," she went silent, unable to speak further.

Ginny reached for Hermione's hand. "You can't...?"

"I can't bear the thought of something happening to you, when that necklace might have made a difference, given you longer to react. I'm just feeling superstitious. Please wear it...for me?" Hermione almost pleaded as she whispered the last part.

"What about you?" Ginny asked, pinning Hermione with a look. "You're just as likely, if not more so, to have small or larger curses thrown at you, wearing you down. Don't you think I'd feel the same, if something happened to you?" The brunette didn't reply. "Answer me, Hermione?" prodded Ginny.

"Yes," admitted Hermione. "I know you feel the same." Hermione looked in her beaded bag again and pulled out a little box. "What if I wear this?"

"It doesn't protect you, as far as we know?" questioned Ginny.

Hermione had brought out the ring, supposedly having belonged to Elizabeth Woodville. "True; it might only make spells a bit more powerful, or not at all. It would be better than nothing, even if it acts as no more than a bit of faith."

"All right," Ginny conceded, knowing the expression Hermione was wearing, meant the woman was in a stubborn mood. "I'll wear the sodding necklace if you wear the ring. Deal?"

With a broad smile, Hermione nodded her agreement as she put the ring onto her finger. She took the necklace out of the box and undid the clasp. _The Iceni probably didn't have clasps like this one and wouldn't have had the ends connecting in that way_, she thought, _it's probably a later adjustment._ She went to stand behind Ginny to fasten the necklace. Hermione savoured her moment to touch Ginny's hair as she moved it aside and placed a couple of soft kisses to the woman's neck. The necklace kept nicely out of sight below the collar of Ginny's shirt, and that would mean no one would be asking awkward questions about it, because it wasn't seen.

Walking around Ginny to stand in front of her, Hermione briefly fiddled with Ginny's collar, straightening it and making sure the necklace was hidden from that side too. As they stood in the kitchen Hermione and Ginny shared a last, lingering kiss, then they clasped each other's hands.

"Until the end, whatever that might be," said Hermione.

"Until the end," said Ginny, determination in her voice.

Hermione led them through the scullery and out into the back garden. She brought out the Time-Turner from her bag, and placed the chain around both of their necks. Both women had their wands in their hands, ready to cast spells as soon as they arrived back at Hogwarts. Ginny held Hermione's wrist with her free hand, as Hermione was poised with her wand.

"Right," said Hermione, taking a deep breath and exhaling it. "Here we go." She pointed her wand at the Time-Turner and used the spell that would end their time-travelling and return them back to the place, and a time, just after they had left from Hogwarts. _"Reditus". _

As soon as the command was used, the garden of Dumbledore's house in Godric's Hollow swirled into a blur and disappeared, replaced by blackness and the disconcerting sensations of time-travel.


	58. Once More Unto The Breach

**A/N: I don't think I've mentioned before that the layout of Hogwarts that I use in my head for stories is from frequently enjoying the old Order of the Phoenix game on my creaky old PS2 console. I still occasionally have a wander around in the game for fun. I think it was the only one that truly allowed you to explore Hogwarts and its grounds fully(as well as Grimmauld Place too). Anyway the game is set out to the official Marauder's Map and as seen in the movies as well, and I'd recommend it for other Potter fanfiction authors to get the places clear in their minds to describe and position their events. I use that as a template with only small embellishments as needed.**

58: Once More Unto The Breach

A long time seemed to pass as Hermione and Ginny experienced their journey back to _their _Hogwarts. Finally their feet touched solid ground once more, and before they had a chance to find their feet they heard the sounds of battle again; of distant explosions and nearer cracks and bangs of spells.

The two women fell to the ground as they arrived back in the Headmaster's Office, Hermione taking off the Time-Turner and stuffing it into a pocket as they both scrambled to their feet. Ginny immediately cast _Protego Maxima _to protect them for their entry back into the battle_._

Kingsley Shacklebolt was still fighting the two Death Eaters just inside the Office, and Hermione sent a double curse of _Stupefy _and _Incarcerous_ in the direction of the one on the left. The Death Eater hadn't seen her join the fray and flew back, hit the wall and when he landed he was unconscious and tied up with rope. Kingsley was now free to concentrate on the remaining Death Eater. Even so, Hermione still joined in and between herself and Shacklebolt the Death Eater was soon in the same condition as his colleague.

"Great timing, Hermione," said Kingsley in his deep voice. "I could be a hero and say I had them, but I won't, because I didn't, and your help was much appreciated."

Ginny had gone to Professor McGonagall, who was lying on the floor, trying to take cover behind part of the desk; blood was still oozing from the wound on her head which she'd received shortly before the girls used the Time-Turner.

"Hermione!" called Ginny. "We need some dittany!"

Kingsley stared at Hermione and then at Ginny. "You two weren't here for a few moments, were you? And then you were again?"

"Um...we...we'd love to...,"

"Kingsley, they can't...tell you...," said a weak-voiced McGonagall trying to sit up. "Dumbledore's orders."

Shacklebolt looked at the three witches, eyes narrowed, then he simply gave a half smile, as if to say he knew that he wouldn't be told, but was reassured that Dumbledore was somehow involved, because it meant something was planned; he knew he'd find out soon enough. He made to go over to the Headmistress.

"You'll be needed elsewhere," Hermione told him. "We can look after the Professor."

Looking from Hermione to Ginny, Kingsley almost gave a little bow, "I'll leave her in your capable hands." Then he rushed off, out of the door and down the stairwell.

Hermione brought out the fresh bottle of dittany which Dumbledore had given them, as Ginny helped to keep McGonagall sitting upright on the floor. They knew they had to look after the Professor first, because she would want to know they had got back properly.

"This is going to sting, Professor," said Hermione, as she poured a couple drops onto McGonagall's head wound.

The Headmistress flinched dramatically and groaned in pain, but the wound had started to heal and the bleeding stopped. In minutes McGonagall made to stand up and seemed to be much less dazed. Ginny helped her to a chair.

"Thank you, girls," said McGonagall. Then something seemed to occur to her, like she remembered everything after a moment of amnesia, or suddenly fully understood what was happening and that what she'd said to Kingsley had been more of a reflex. "Hermione? Ginny? You're back?"

"Yes, Professor," replied Hermione.

"Did you succeed? Have you brought it back?"

Hermione looked to Ginny and the redhead looked back. It became apparent that McGonagall thought they only had to obtain one item. _Does that mean Dumbledore never told the whole plan to McGonagall?_ thought Hermione. _If so, what do I say?_

Ginny spoke first. "There was more than one item," she said simply.

"More than one?" asked a confused McGonagall.

"You'll understand that we won't say much because obviously Dumbledore had his reasons for not telling you about the other...tasks we had," said Hermione in a subtle way. "We _can_ tell you that we have another mission to carry out now and we're going to do all we can to make it work."

Minerva McGonagall didn't make a protest, even though she was desperate to know what Dumbledore hadn't told her. However, she had known Albus for more years than she cared to remember and trusted him beyond doubt, even now, beyond the grave. If he hadn't told her everything, then he had his reasons and very good reasons they'd be too. "Can I be of help in any way?" she asked.

"I'm not sure," said Hermione. "We need to get to the Great Hall."

"I can escort you there," said the Professor. "You'll need an extra pair of eyes and an extra wand at your back."

"If you're sure you feel well enough?" asked Ginny, concerned.

"What? This?" said McGonagall, gesturing to her head and wiping away some of the blood from the healed wound. "It will take more than that to keep _me_ down!"

Hermione gave the Headmistress a smile, and edged to the doorway of the Office, peeping her head around it to see if there were any dangers on the stairwell. Hearing no sounds of battle nearby, the three of them descended the stairs. Stopping at the bottom to check for Death Eaters and other dangers, the Professor moved in front of Hermione. "I really ought to go first," she said. "It won't help Dumbledore's plan if you get injured and taken out of action, will it?"

The three witches edged along a corridor and down a flight of stairs without incident. It was in the next corridor that they came across a plethora of students, along with Aberforth, fighting Death Eaters. Green and red lights of spells and curses were bouncing off walls and hitting windows. The way ahead was blocked for them. McGonagall led Hermione and Ginny into an alcove where a statue had once stood.

"How are we to get through that?" Hermione asked in a quiet voice.

"I'm working on it, Miss Granger," said McGonagall, as she frequently looked out from their alcove to check on the mêlée taking place near the very doorway to the Grand Staircase they needed to pass through. The Headmistress added the occasional spell to the fight too.

"We need to get past them soon," said Ginny. "We can't stay here."

"I realize that!" said McGonagall irritably. "We can hardly walk through them and hope they won't notice, we need to think carefully about this."

To the two young witches it felt like they were waiting for tens of minutes, knowing all the things they had to do, and being filled with doubt that they'd even make it to the Great Hall, let alone get to Harry.

"Hey!"

"What is it?" asked McGonagall.

"What?" asked Hermione.

"I thought you just said something?" said the Professor. "Did you say something, Ginny?"

"No, Professor" said Ginny. "I was still think..."

"Hey!"

This time they all heard it, and knew it wasn't any of them, and peeping around at the fight ahead it didn't look to be any of the combatants there either. It was then Ginny turned to look back the way they had come. "Charlie?" she said in surprise. She hadn't seen her brother before, when most of the Hogwarts' defenders had gone out to face Voldemort, and she hadn't dared to ask where he was, in case he turned up lying next to Fred. She was so relieved to see him alive.

Hermione and McGonagall turned their heads to look at the person Ginny had so obviously recognized. Pressed up against the wall, not far from the doorway they had entered the corridor from and trying not to be seen himself, was Charlie Weasley. He beckoned with his hand, but as Ginny was about to go to him, McGonagall grabbed her arm.

"He's my brother," Ginny said, confused.

"Is he?" asked the Professor. "Check."

"If he's a Death Eater, he wouldn't bother disguising himself...he'd just attack!" said a very bothered Ginny.

"Nothing is certain. We have Hermione with us," said the Professor. "Their side knows her, would love to capture her no doubt; we have to be cautious."

Ginny looked at Hermione desperately. "What do I ask him that only my real brother would know?"

"I know!" Hermione answered. "Ask him which dragon Fleur faced in the Triwizard Tournament."

"Charlie?" Ginny called to him. "Which dragon did Fleur face at the Triwizard Tournament?"

Charlie looked a little perplexed. "What the hell do you want to know that for, now?"

"To check you're you!" said Ginny.

"Oh! It was a Common Welsh Green," said Charlie. "So? Do I pass your test?"

"You do realize that most Death Eaters would have read about that in the Daily Prophet back then?" said a worried McGonagall.

"What can I ask? I can't think of...I know!" said Ginny, suddenly. "Charlie, what did Fred and George nearly get Ron to do which made Dad angrier than anyone has ever seen him?"

"Easy one," laughed Charlie. "That would be their crazy idea of getting Ron to make an Unbreakable Vow."

"He's him," said Ginny to the other two witches.

"Are we finished with the questions? Or would you like an essay next?" asked Charlie with a grin, and still waving his hand at them to go to him.

Looking back at the battle in the corridor, the three witches walked towards Charlie, with McGonagall guarding the rear, as they followed him through the doorway to the quieter area beyond. Once clear, Ginny flung her arms around her brother's neck. "It's so good to see you! Where have you been? You weren't there when they brought Harry out, or in the Hall?"

"To begin with I was stuck in the dungeons, then myself and a couple of others had to sort out some trouble in the Forbidden Forest. I started to make my way back when everything went quiet. I got a bit delayed by various random creatures, then when I did get back all hell had broken loose again." Charlie shook his head. "I hardly had time to take in...to hear...to know about Fred, before I got back into the thick of it, and that's when I got yelled at."

"Yelled at?" asked Ginny. "By whom?"

"Dumbledore," Charlie said.

"He...he's not here, is he?" asked Hermione, wondering if Dumbledore had finally broken his own rules about not 'lending a hand' and only observing.

"No, of course not," said Charlie with a smile. "I was in another corridor and he was yelling at me from one of the paintings."

"Well, what did he say?" This time it was Professor McGonagall wondering what was going on.

"He told me that you three were stuck in that corridor where I found you, and I'm to take you to the Great Hall."

"That's all very nice of you," said the Professor. "But don't you think that's what we _were_ trying to do?"

"Yeah, but you weren't getting very far, were you?"

"And _you_ can do better?" asked an incredulous McGonagall.

"I can," grinned Charlie Weasley. "Now that Dumbledore's given me some interesting information about a broom cupboard near to his office which...," he lowered his voice. "...is in fact a secret passage which takes you to the Trophy Room." Charlie greatly enjoyed the astonished looks he was receiving from the three witches; he particularly enjoyed the look from his old Professor.

"Well, lead on," said Hermione. "We need to get there as soon as we can."

"This way, ladies," said Charlie, as they followed him back in the direction of the Headmaster's Office.

As they walked a few paces past the doorway to the stairwell, leading to the Office, they found the door to the mystery cupboard. Charlie looked around them, saw they were safe and opened the door. "Mind the mops and buckets."

With McGonagall staying at the rear, all four of them walked through the broom cupboard's door, picking their way through the obstacles and discovering that the back wall of the cupboard was a trick of the eye. All were surprised to simply walk through it, similar to the barrier on King's Cross station.

The walk from the magical wall was slightly downhill for about twenty yards; all had their wands lit in the dark passageway. Suddenly Charlie stopped in front of them, making Ginny bump into him.

"What's wrong?" asked Ginny.

"Nothing, we're here; through this wall is the Trophy Room," answered Charlie, holding his wand hand out to illuminate the wall, for all of them to see.

"That's impossible!" said McGonagall, voicing her surprise a fraction before Hermione was going to. "We haven't walked anywhere near far enough?"

"The way he spoke of it, something tells me Dumbledore might have created it," said Charlie. "If so, then we're always ready to expect the impossible from him, aren't we?"

_Come to think of it, _thought Hermione, _I never remember seeing a passage from the Trophy Room on the Marauder's Map. I think this _might _be a Dumbledore Special Creation!_

"Wands ready, everyone," said Charlie, before adding with a smile, "Just in case, and all that."

Ginny prodded her brother, and he led them forwards through another seemingly veiled wall, and there they stood in the Trophy Room. It was dark and empty, except for a few broken glass cases and one or two trophies on their sides.

"I know you know where you are," said Charlie. "But I promised Dumbledore I'd take you to the Great Hall, and that's what I'll do."

Leading the way, Charlie Weasley climbed the flight of steps and reached the door to the Great Hall. He waited until the three women were close up behind him before opening the door. At first he opened it just a fraction, to see what was going on.

"What's happening?" asked an impatient Hermione.

"Nothing. Looks like it's only our side in there." Charlie pushed the door further open. "Okay, all clear...or as clear as it's going to get at the moment."

After the dark, damp Trophy Room, they all felt they wanted to shield their eyes in the lit Great Hall. Several people turned their heads as they heard the door creak open, and were surprised to see Charlie Weasley followed by his sister, Hermione Granger and Professor McGonagall; the latter with blood down one side of her face and on her robes.

"CHARLIE?" shouted a woman's voice.

Charlie Weasley hardly had time to look in the direction the voice had come from, before being enveloped into a tight hug by his mother. "Mum?"

"Where have you been?" the woman almost shrieked.

"Er, long story, I'll tell you later," he said, looking sheepish.

"Just a moment," said Molly Weasley, as she stared at the three women she'd seen walk in with her son. "When did you go to the Trophy Room? The last we saw was you, Hermione, leaving with Professor McGonagall. And YOU, Ginny, we didn't know _where_ you'd gone?"

"Long story, Mum," said Ginny, waiting for a verbal onslaught, but experiencing a happiness at seeing her mother, which she couldn't have described, after only seeing dream versions of the woman for the past couple of weeks.

"Long story?" her mother said, already sceptical.

"Err...call of nature," Ginny suddenly said, knowing that her mother had a built-in lie-detector for that very kind of lie.

"A likely st...,"

"I'm sorry Mrs. Weasley, we don't have time to talk," said Hermione, trying to rescue Ginny. "We have a task to carry out...for the...for Dumbledore, really."

"Dumbledore?" said a voice.

They all looked beyond Mrs. Weasley to see Ron walking up to them. "Ah...hello," said Hermione awkwardly.

"Hello? Where did you go?" asked Ron, as he walked up to Hermione and hugged her.

Hermione felt uncomfortable and was thankful she could back away to reply to him. "With the Professor," she said truthfully.

She thought she would feel even more awkward than she did, seeing the real Ron again, but after a moment or two, she was surprised to feel very little. Having seen so much, and been through experiences that no one other than Ginny would ever understand, she had lost any feeling of lust or love on seeing him. It was almost like she was meeting a stranger in some ways, except she felt a deep care and respect as a friend might have, but she couldn't imagine ever kissing him again and the hugging would be kept to the minimal friendly kind...she hoped.

"You could have bloody told me?" he said, affronted.

"There was no time," Hermione replied. "I had to help the Professor with something."

"So what were you saying about Dumbledore?" Ron asked.

Ginny answered him this time, a part of her not liking him even talking to Hermione. "It's something we have to do, which he set in motion. We can't tell you much more than that."

Hermione thought about the conversation they'd had about this part of the plan and decided to use the option they'd considered. "Professor, Charlie, Mrs. Weasley, we...that is to say, Ginny and I, have something we have to do. We can't tell you exactly what it is, only that, if it works it might turn the tide of this battle," she told her attentive audience. "So, for now you'll have to leave us...except Ron. We need him for something."

Some strange looks passed between Mrs. Weasley, Charlie and McGonagall. The latter accepted the information without question and made to walk away into the Hall to check on the situation of the battle. Mrs. Weasley was about to protest and question what was going on. "Molly, would you take a look at my head, please?" asked McGonagall, trying to rescue her students. "Hermione and Ginny used dittany, but I want to make sure it's healed."

"Hmm? Oh yes...yes of course," said the slightly flustered Mrs. Weasley, who gave a lingering suspicious look at the two girls before following the Professor.

"Can _I_ help?" asked Charlie.

"You have already," said his sister.

"We really only need Ron for this," Hermione told the second oldest Weasley sibling.

"Well, if you change your mind...," Charlie said, as he walked away from them.

"What the bloody hell are you two up to?" asked Ron.

"Ron," began Hermione. "We have to find something, but we think it's on Harry...on his person somewhere."

"You can just look, can't you? Why do you need me?"

"The thing is, we might have to fudge around in his clothing, it might look odd, but also," Hermione lowered her voice to a whisper. "We've been told he might have another...horcrux."

"Another one? How many of the buggers did that evil git make? I thought we had them all?" said Ron, exasperated.

"We think this is the last one," Hermione told him, a bit uncomfortable at how easy the lie came to her lips. "But we need to find it on Harry, and then check it, and destroy it."

"Destroy it? What with? Maybe you need Neville, he's got the sword, I'll call him over...,"

Hermione grabbed Ron's arm as he turned to seek out Neville. "No!" she said. "We don't need the sword."

"You'll need something to destroy it?" the red-haired man persisted.

_Why does he always have to make things more difficult? _thought Hermione, before she gave a tired sigh. "Ron, we have a way to destroy it, trust us."

"If you must know, it's this," said Ginny. In a lightning fast decision she had taken Hermione's beaded bag from the brunette's pocket and had pulled out the silver werewolf dagger they'd bought at Borgin & Burkes. It looked mystical enough to do the kind of work they were talking about and would hopefully satisfy Ron's curiosity.

"Where did you get that?" Ron asked, staring at the dagger in Ginny's hand.

"Long story," said Ginny.

"Long story? I have a feeling there's been a lot of those since you walked back in here!" Ron looked about to protest further or try to delve more into the mysteries in front of him.

"ANYWAY," said Hermione, hoping to ride over Ron's questioning. "We think Harry has his Invisibility Cloak in a pocket, and we're going to use it to cover us as we...work, destroy the thing or whatever."

"Why do you need me? Sounds like you two have it planned?"

"We need you to keep anyone from asking if they want to see Harry's body. AND to stop anyone from getting close enough to trip over us." said Hermione.

"What you ought to do," said Ron. "Is take him to the Trophy Room, you can search all you want then, even lock the door."

Hermione thought about it, and for one of those few times, Ron had come up with a wonderful idea. It still wasn't enough for her to ever consider kissing him again, but she was pleased she had approached him for the plan after all.

"Oh don't tell me," said Ron glumly. "I'm an idiot, it's a stupid plan and I ought to...,"

"It's a brilliant idea," said Hermione.

Ron blinked in surprise. "Really?"

Ginny wanted to roll her eyes. _I know he's only talking with Hermione, but why am I feeling so bloody jealous. Get a grip!_

"Okay, slight change of plan," said Hermione. "We'll take Harry to the Trophy Room. But, could you still guard the door, on this side, Ron?"

"If that's what you want, you're obviously not going to let me be involved with anything else!" Ron sighed. "Just how are you going to get Harry down there?"

Hermione had already thought about that, even though she didn't like the idea she'd come up with. "I'm going to levitate him vertically, under the cloak with me...there's room for two."

"What will I be doing?" asked Ginny, trying hard not to think about what it was they were actually going to do.

"You'll have to casually walk to the door and open it, pause to let us through, then go through yourself and close it. Ron, you stay in the Hall by the door and if anyone asks...you can say...,"

"I can say Ginny's upset and needs some time to herself," said Ron, with a sad expression.

"Yes...that works," said Ginny, knowing that Ron was referring to Fred as well as Harry, and it was then she felt her chest tighten, knowing that she would be seeing her dead brother when they went to Harry.

"So, we're all clear on what we're doing? Ron, keep lookout, while we find the Cloak," said Hermione, as she led them over to the row of sheet-covered lumps, where Fred, Tonks, Lupin, Harry and so many others now lay.

Ron walked ahead of them, and stayed a few paces in front of where the girls would be with Harry. Hermione had sensed Ginny tense up and seemed to know that it was having to face the dead which had disturbed her. She was disturbed about it herself. The brunette reached for Ginny's hand, and squeezed it, as she leaned in and whispered, "We can do this. We can do this together."

They stood over Harry, he hadn't yet been completely covered up. Ginny was only slightly relieved to see that next to him, Fred, Lupin and Tonks were completely covered with a sheet now, it helped her to focus more. Seeing Harry again made her take several deep breaths, as the first sight of him when Hagrid had brought out his body for all to see, came fresh to her mind. A small comfort was the fact Harry wasn't decomposing, and although dead, he still looked as though he was asleep, with only the faintest blue hue to his cold lips.

Hermione looked around to make sure no one was looking in their direction and crouched down. She hoped if someone did see them, they thought they were just paying their respects to Harry. Ginny still stood and when Hermione looked up at her, she could see she had gone pale as she stared at Harry's face. Hermione reached up for her hand again and this seemed to shake the redhead back to the moment and she too crouched down on the other side of her late boyfriend.

As incredibly disturbing as it was, Hermione reached forward and moved the sheet further down, and put a hand into the pocket of Harry's jacket and immediately found and pulled out the pieces of Harry's broken wand. "No idea why he was still carrying that around?" questioned Hermione.

Ginny shrugged her shoulders. "It probably meant something more to him, than just being a wand. It's not really relevant now, whatever happens."

Putting the broken wand back into the pocket, Hermione pushed her hand deeper, but found only a sticky half-melted sweet. She then tried Harry's trousers' pocket her side and that was empty except for a small amount of fluff. "Gin, can you look in the pockets your side?" she asked in a soft voice.

Ginny stared at Harry's face again, and as she moved her arm foward she could see her hand was shaking. She felt annoyed at herself and, gritting her teeth, she checked Harry's jacket pocket on her side and felt the soft silky material of the Cloak. "Found it," she said in a whisper.

Handing the Cloak over to Hermione, Ginny stood up again. "I'm going to tell Ron we've got the Cloak, you get under it and call me when you're ready to move."

Walking over to her brother, who was standing in a way that blocked a clear view of the girls behind him, Ginny said, "We've got the Cloak. Another few moments and we'll move. Follow me or maybe, walk _with _me, it will look less odd."

"Since when did you get all cunning?" said her brother.

Ginny dismissed the comment, because she hadn't realized herself that planning of any sort came very naturally to her now, along with paranoia about how actions or situations might look to others.

Hermione gave another quick look around the Hall, and in one swift movement flung the Cloak over herself and Harry's body. Once covered, she moved to a crouch and as she stood up she levitated Harry to stand up with her under the cloak. She had to be close up to Harry so the Cloak covered them both. As she stood up, with him next to her, she felt almost frozen to the spot; his head was lolled forward as if in some kind of trance. _Could this get anymore disturbing? _she thought, _this is sick! I know there's a chance he won't be dead for much longer, but this is...it's harrowing!_

However, after another series of explosions, which caused some plaster to crack and fall off a nearby wall, Hermione knew she had to push down her uncomfortable thoughts and just try to move onwards with the plan.

Ron was still troubled by everything he wasn't being told. "Will you ever tell me what's going on here?" he asked his sister.

"It depends," said Ginny, thinking over her words carefully. "It might be that you'll see the answers before we can tell you."

"You know, you're making about as much sense as Trelawney! Since when did you get all cryptic? How come in the half an hour you were missing, you come back suddenly knowing all about horcruxes and doing something for Dumbledore?"

_Half an hour? _thought Ginny, _that's all the time we were missing here? No Ron, I was gone a lot longer than that, and I've seen and done things you can never even imagine. And I've fallen in love with your girlfriend and slept with her! _ _Shit, don't think that...not right now! _Much to Ginny's relief she didn't have to try and answer Ron's latest onslaught of questions, as they were both distracted from the moment by Hermione.

"Gin, I'm ready," came a voice from behind them.

Turning, Ginny and Ron walked to where Hermione and Harry had been and walked at a slow, but natural pace, towards the Trophy Room door.

"Tell me when you're through the door," said Ginny, as she passed the place Hermione was standing under the Cloak.

At the Trophy Room door, Ginny made a point of turning to Ron, knowing it would add to the whole idea of him letting his sister have some privacy, and that it was probably what she was telling him. With the door open, waiting for Hermione with Harry to go through, Ginny said to Ron, "I think the biggest threat will be Mum, if she sees this or thinks I'm genuinely upset. Keep her at bay...if you can. We can't be seen doing what we're doing."

"Yeah, yeah, I know. You're going to lock the door anyway, so that will help to buy some time," Ron answered.

"I'm through!" said a voice, echoing from the stone steps on the other side of the doorway.

Ginny took a deep breath and walked through the door, closed it behind her and flicked her wand at it, using two different locking spells for added security, similar to the locking spells she often used in her room at the Burrow. She walked down the first couple of steps, not hearing other footsteps, meaning Hermione had already reached the room below.

Walking down the rest of the flight of steps, her legs feeling shaky from nerves, Ginny saw that Hermione had lit a couple of lamps, giving a soft light to the room, even making some of the trophies sparkle. Hermione had laid Harry on the ground, and had rolled up the sheet, which had covered him in the Hall, and placed it under his head. She was then folding the Cloak and putting it back into Harry's jacket pocket, as Ginny walked over to her.

Hermione saw Ginny looking nervous, and in truth the brunette felt just as nervous on the inside too. She hugged her, and placed a little peck of a kiss on her lips. "It's time to try this crazy plan," she said.

Ginny gave Hermione a fierce hug back, before nodding her head and kneeling next to Harry on his left side. "Okay, we need the Ring first," she said, as Hermione brought out her beaded bag and knelt on the opposite side of the Boy Who Lived.

_I so hope we can make it 'The Boy Who Lived, Who Died and Lived Again', _Hermione thought.

**A/N: I don't deliberately write cliffhangers, they happen by themselves. :) Sorry for this small one. :)**


	59. Cloak, Ring, Cup and Wand

**(Sorry for any confusing email alerts, FFN's emails weren't working, then they were, then weren't and then everything came through delayed. I deleted and reposted this chapter a couple of times to see if they were working.)**

**A/N: I got this update ready for today instead of the weekend, as I have a few busy days coming up.**

**One or two of the chapters to follow are a little longer than previous ones, so in future I might take a day or two extra to check through them to post here. Don't worry though, I won't keep you waiting weeks and months for each update, and I WILL finish this story. I'm a long way ahead of what I post and as I write this update I have almost finished the story. :)**

**Let's get back to Hogwarts. Here's the next chapter...**

59: Cloak, Ring, Cup and Wand

Hermione retrieved all the items they needed from her beaded bag and Ginny made sure she still had the Elder Wand up her sleeve.

"Ring first," said Hermione as she opened the pouch it had been kept in since they had taken it from Morfin Gaunt. She brought out the Ring and held it delicately, like a person would hold a tiny insect, fearing they might squash it. The Deathly Hallows symbol on the Stone reflected the lit lamps from the Trophy Room, as Hermione studied it. "Do you want to put this on his finger? Or would you like me to?"

Ginny looked to Hermione, and then at Harry, giving a huge sigh she looked back to Hermione again. "I'll do it," she said.

With a reassuring smile, Hermione handed Ginny the Ring and said, "I don't think it matters which finger it's on. As long as it's on one of them."

Carefully Ginny got hold of Harry's left wrist, and lifted it up, then moved her hand along to support Harry's hand, ready to slide the Ring onto a finger. However, as her hand moved from the material of his jacket to the cold flesh of his hand she flinched and dropped his hand.

"Ginny?"

"I'm okay...it just his...his hand's freezing cold, it surprised me," the redhead said, taking several fast breaths.

Leaning over Harry, Hermione brought her hand up to touch Ginny's cheek. "We can do this, we _can,_" she repeated from earlier. "Are you all right to carry on, or do you want me to try?"

"No!" Ginny snapped, then realized she had voiced her response harshly. "I'm sorry. I'm not angry with you, Hermione. I'm angry at myself. I _know _I can do this."

The anger at herself for being thrown at touching Harry's cold hand brought strong thoughts to her mind. _I've been through worse than this. I found Hermione again. I faced Voldemort. I've used the _imperius _curse on a woman. Hell, I've even disarmed Dumbledore. And I've slept with Hermione! I can do this...just DO IT!_

Ginny picked up Harry's hand again. _Urgh, it feels like a cold chicken before putting it in the oven, _she thought, then,_ Why did I have to think of that? _Looking at the Ring and again at Harry's fingers she thought the ring finger might be the the best fit. She separated the finger from the others a little and gently pushed the Resurrection Stone Ring onto it, sliding it easily past the first joint, needing a little extra pressure to get it past the middle knuckle joint, before it rested against the more fleshy lower part of the digit.

As Ginny checked the placement of the Ring, it suddenly came to her that she was placing a ring onto Harry's wedding ring finger. "Typical!" she muttered, not liking the emotional reminder.

"What is?" asked Hermione, who had been watching the Ring being slotted into place.

"It's stupid, but I was thinking about me sliding a ring onto Harry's left hand, you know, where a wedding ring would be."

"Oh," said Hermione, not completely sure how to reply with anything else to that information.

"Hey, I don't want to marry him," said Ginny, noticing the odd expression Hermione was wearing. "I want him to come back to us, I do, but not to marry him. I'm with you. I love _you."_

"I know, I know," said Hermione, feeling a bit ashamed that she'd let any doubt about Ginny enter her mind again. "Everything's a little hard to take in. So much has changed, for us all. Forgive me for even thinking about it like that."

"Nothing to forgive," said Ginny, as she gently laid Harry's hand back on the ground. "Now, it's time for the Cup, if I remember correctly. I think you should do that bit."

"Okay," said Hermione, as she picked up the vial containing the liquid mixture of phoenix tears and veritaserum. "I'll pour it into the Cup."

As Hermione was about to unstopper the vial, a huge explosion sounded from nearby and rocked the very foundations, even down in the Trophy Room where the two witches were. Immediately another explosion sounded, so large that Hermione lost her grip on the vial. "NOO!" she shouted, knowing if it hit the stone floor it would smash.

Ginny had been watching Hermione as carefully as the brunette had watched her when she'd carried out the Ring part of the plan. She saw Hermione lose her grip on the vial, almost in slow motion, and dived forward with her hand outstretched. Somehow, Ginny caught the vial, placing her hand between it and the floor, safely capturing it in her palm. It meant she had ended up sprawled over Harry's body, but for the moment she was more concerned with the vial.

"Shit! That was close!" said a very tense Hermione. "You really are amazing, Gin!"

As Ginny moved herself back off Harry and handed the vial to Hermione, she just grinned. "Well, I _have _played as Seeker a few times, the skills come in handy!"

Smiling back at Ginny, Hermione made sure that she had a firm hold of the receptical of priceless liquid, this time, before taking the stopper out and carefully pouring it into Helga Hufflepuff's Cup.

"Is it doing anything?" asked Ginny, interested. "You know, is it bubbling or changing colour?"

Hermione studied the contents for a moment or two. "No, nothing's changed. Not so much as a wisp of smoke. I suppose it means the Cup has a sort of magical aura to it or something. A property that can't be felt or seen."

"I really thought it might smoke up, or at least turn blue or something," said Ginny.

"So, now we need to get it into Harry's mouth," said Hermione, then she grimaced.

"Are you all right?"

"No, not really," said Hermione, sighing sadly. "This feels so wrong, what we're doing here, meddling with his body. Every part of me is telling me to leave him alone and in peace."

"I know," Ginny said, softly. "I know it feels wrong. But remember what we said from the very first day we were in Godric's Hollow: We have to trust Dumbledore."

Hermione looked at Ginny, both nearly had tears in their eyes. "Yes. Yes, you're absolutely right," said Hermione, giving a small smile. "I don't quite know how we're going to do this? To make sure the fluid gets fully into his mouth?"

"Hmm," said Ginny, deep in thought as she looked at Harry. "What if we lift his head up? That would make sure it doesn't just run out from the corners of his mouth?"

"That might work, you could...," Hermione was about to suggest a solution to that, but Ginny got there first.

"What if I kneel at his head and lift his head up onto my lap?"

"I was about to suggest something like that," said Hermione. "But only if you're sure you want to do that?"

"Well, if there was an alternative choice to _any_ of this I'd gladly take it, but we have limited choices and limited time," said Ginny stoically. "So for now, let's just do this and try not to think too hard about exactly what it is we're doing."

Ginny moved to kneel at Harry's head, and trying to push away the disturbing thoughts she should be having, she gently lifted his head onto her lap, resting a hand against his cheek and the other under his chin and jaw. Immediately she was taken back once more, to when she'd gone to him after Hagrid had brought him out; she had rested his head on her lap then too. _This time it's different, _she thought. _This time he won't stay dead...we hope. _"Ready," she said.

With a little nod, Hermione carefully held the Cup and tilted it, as the Cup's edge approached Harry's lips. Very cautiously, moving the Cup's edge to rest softly in between her late friend's lips, she slowly tipped up the Cup, watching with close scrutiny the liquid reach the gap and some of it definitely pass through into the man's mouth.

"Do we give him the lot?" asked Ginny.

"Dumbledore didn't say, but I imagine the more we give him the better," said Hermione, as she slowly raised the Cup further to pour more of the fluid into the currently lifeless mouth. After a few moments, Helga Hufflepuff's Cup was empty, apart from a droplet or two.

"Hermione, how can he swallow it?"

"I don't know, but...," Hermione studied Harry's face and lips. "But none of the liquid is escaping. I don't know what that means. It's been absorbed or something."

"Isn't he supposed to...come back, now?" Ginny asked, aware that the head resting in her lap continued to be cold and lifeless.

"I don't know," said an apprehensive Hermione. "Dumbledore made it sound like even if it wasn't instant, that it would be fairly fast."

"We've done everything, exactly as we were told. What could have gone wrong?"

"I don't know, Ginny, I just don't know."

Hermione moved so she was sitting next to Ginny, looking down on Harry's head. They sat, staring at him for what must have been ten minutes.

"What do we do? If he doesn't come back? Does that mean it's all over and the Death Eaters will merely finish us off one by one?" asked Ginny, angrily.

Hermione wrapped an arm around Ginny and the redhead laid her head to the side on Hermione's shoulder. "I don't know what we'll do. But you have the Elder Wand, maybe you can do something."

"Me?" Ginny said in surprise.

"Yes, you."

"It's not meant to be me. Only Harry can kill You Know Who."

"Blast, I forgot about that again," said Hermione, remembering the destiny Harry Potter and Voldemort had with each other.

"Why send us to get these items, if it isn't going to work? Was this just some vague experiment?"

"Hmm, I don't think so," said Hermione. "Would Dumbledore have risked all those potential disasters with time-travel, if he wasn't sure of the results, if we obtained the items?"

"Hmm, true. So why isn't it working? Have we forgotten anything?" said Ginny, knowing Hermione didn't have the answers, but voicing the questions anyway. "We've followed the instructions exactly. We might soon have another problem, though...we've been gone a while, Mum alone might start barging down the door. Even Ron might let his curiosity get the better of him."

"We've been through so much, how can it all be for nothing?" Hermione groaned, as she leaned in to Ginny, feeling exhausted and closing her eyes. Several more minutes passed, with the sounds of battle and explosions still ringing out around Hogwarts.

"Hermione?"

"Hmm?"

"HERMIONE!"

The brunette stirred and looked at Ginny. "What? What's wrong?"

"Harry. Harry's face...it's warm."

Hermione looked closely at Harry, and to her he didn't _look_ any different. "Are you sure it's not just where you've had your hands?" she asked, as she placed a hand to Harry's cheek, then flinched back.

"You feel it too, don't you?" said Ginny, unsure whether to smile or be shocked.

Hermione pressed her hand to Harry's neck, looking for a pulse, but there wasn't one. She then checked a wrist, a _warm_ wrist, and still she couldn't find a pulse. "I don't understand? If he's warming up that would mean his blood is flowing around again, and that would need his heart to be beating...which should mean a pulse."

"I'm trying to remember everything Dumbledore said, but he didn't say anything about Harry warming up, but not breathing, or whatever?" said a very flustered Ginny.

"'Not breathing'," repeated Hermione. "Not breathing! That's it!"

"What is?" asked Ginny, as she grabbed Hermione's hand. "Tell me?"

"Do you remember Dumbledore said to me that it might be helpful that I'm muggle-born?"

"Yes, but I thought that was just a bit of piffle?"

"So did I, until now," said Hermione.

"I don't understand," said Ginny. "How is that helpful?"

"Dumbledore assumed this might happen, that we might have to bring Harry back with a little help. I think the Cup and potion stuff did their job, but not all of it."

"So what are you going to do?" asked a very confused Ginny.

"CPR," smiled Hermione.

"CP what?"

"I learned it in First Aid lessons at Primary School. I remember enough of it and Dumbledore knew that...somehow. Don't ask me how I know that's what he meant, but I'm _sure_ of it."

"That's a leap! Why didn't he just say you'd have to use muggle First Aid?" asked a bewildered Ginny.

"No idea, but Dumbledore always has his reasons for everything," conceded Hermione.

"So what does it involve?"

"Something tells me, had we not got the Cup and only had the potion, it'd be much more difficult, but the Cup has given us a helping hand, I just have to finish the process. In basic terms, Ginny, I'm going to give Harry some air and get his heart beating," said Hermione, a lot more calmly than she felt inside.

"WHAT!"

"You might not like this, but it would be better if you could help me. You won't like the bit I'm going to ask you to do and...and I'm not sure I'll like you doing this either, but our personal life has to be put away for now, more pressing issues are at hand."

"Um, could you start making some sense soon, please?" asked Ginny.

"I want you to give Harry some air," said Hermione, and seeing Ginny about to ask 'how' she talked over her. "You cover your lips over his and blow a couple of breaths into his mouth."

"Oh!" replied Ginny, understanding Hermione's reservations, due to the fact her lips would be joined to Harry's, however bizarre the circumstances. She shook her head to clear away the strange thoughts. "Well, if we're going to do this, let's get on with it."

Hermione used the sheet as a pillow again, and tilted Harry's head back for the optimal position for giving him air. She opened Harry's jacket and felt along his chest for the correct placement for her hands, hoping against hope that she wouldn't break a rib.

"Right, hold his nose to keep it closed," she instructed Ginny. "Open his mouth slightly, cover his with yours and give two good breaths."

Ginny felt her heartrate quicken, and her hands felt shaky, but she did as Hermione instructed, and although she'd been concerned by what she might feel, by essentially nearly kissing Harry again, she was relieved to feel nothing more than deep concern and hope, that Harry would come back to them, that Hermione knew what she was doing. _At least his lips are warm now, he _feels _more alive, _she thought.

Once Ginny moved back again, Hermione overlapped her hands onto Harry's chest and gave around twenty-six compressions, she nearly lost count but thought it was the amount she'd completed, which was nearly the standard thirty she remembered being told about at school. After completing her part, she looked at Harry and he still wasn't breathing and there wasn't any pulse. "Two more breaths, Ginny."

And once again, after Ginny had done her part, Hermione went back to chest compressions. _Five, _she thought as she tried to count, _eight, come on Harry, we need you...ten. You might hate our guts when you learn about us...fourteen...you might never want to see us again...nineteen..._

"For Merlin's sake Harry, will you bloody wake up!" shouted Hermione. "WAKE UP!" she yelled again on the twenty-fourth compression. "If you don't...wake up, now...I'm going to...,"

"What? Kill me?" said a croaky voice, followed by coughing and spluttering.

"HARRY?" Hermione almost shrieked.

Ginny was stunned, to see Harry breathing and coughing and moving, all of his own accord. She reached a hand out and laid it on his chest, feeling the rise and fall of his diaphragm, the movement not caused by her breaths, but by the fact he was alive.

Hermione sat back and looked at Harry in disbelief. "It worked," she said in amazement. The theory and the practical on a dummy at Primary School was one thing, actually performing CPR on a real human being was another thing entirely.

"Hermione, you're...you're incredible," said Ginny, staring at the brunette in wonder.

Moving to Harry's side, Hermione rested a hand on his shoulder, as he got over his initial coughing fit. "Can you sit up?" she asked.

"I'll let you know," said Harry, drily. He made the attempt with Ginny supporting him on one side and Hermione on the other. "That would be a yes, then," he said, as he rose to a sitting position.

"I know this will seem a bit quick, but time isn't on our side," began Hermione. "Do you know where you went, Harry?"

Harry looked at her blinking, miraculously still wearing his glasses. "Sort of," he said. "I spoke with Dumbledore...I think, I'm a bit unsure of it really. He said I had a choice, whether to come back or not, so I assume I was dead?"

"Err...yes," said Hermione. "You were."

"That's what I thought." Harry paused for a moment, coughing again. "I decided to come back, but I didn't know how, nothing happened and I seemed to be wandering around aimlessly, wherever or whatever that place was."

Hermione brought out a flask of tea from her beaded bag and poured out a cup for Harry, which he gratefully received.

"That sounds very confusing?" asked Ginny, unsure what to say to him.

"It was, and I even thought maybe I shouldn't bother or maybe I wasn't _meant _to come back at all."

"I hate to land this on you, bearing in mind we've all just worked the nearly impossible," said Hermione. "But we're glad you did come back because, you're the only one who can beat You Know Who."

"I know," Harry replied.

"You know?"

"Yes. I looked at Snape's memories in the pensieve, before I went to the Forest. There was so much I thought I knew and didn't, so much was turned upside down when I learned the truth."

"You mean, like Dumbledore planning for Snape to kill him?" asked Ginny.

Harry turned his head to look at her. "How do you know about that?"

"We know a few things about it, but we don't have the time to tell you _how _we know about it. Other than the fact it seemed arranged, we don't know much more," said Hermione.

"Believe it or not, Snape has been protecting me since the moment I stepped foot in Hogwarts," Harry said with a small laugh.

"He was _protecting_ you?" Hermione said in a higher pitched voice than normal. "But he...he hated you?"

"Yes and no," said Harry, taking a sip of his tea. "Snape hated my Dad, because he loved my Mum. He loved her since they were kids. That's why he agreed to protect me, because of his love for my Mum. It will sound mad coming from me, but Snape was a bloody brave bloke. He was faking the whole Death Eater thing after he thought he was to blame for my Mum's death. He originally thought Voldemort would spare her, and...well, afterwards he offered himself to Dumbledore to do whatever was needed. So he was really working for the Order all along. But, it seems his motivation was his love for my Mum."

"Does anyone else find that creepy?" asked Ginny.

"It certainly turns over all the theories we've had about him over the years!" said Hermione, taken aback by the information.

Another very loud explosion sounded, and Harry's faint smile turned into complete seriousness. "I've got to go back out there, and soon," he stated calmly.

"Yes, I'm afraid so," said Hermione, wondering how Harry could be so laid back about it.

"I'd better test the legs, hadn't I?" said Harry, making to stand up. With a little help from Hermione and Ginny, he got to his feet.

"How does it feel?" asked Ginny.

"Not bad," he said, then smiled at her. "Even better for seeing you again."

_Oh shit! _thought Hermione. She then saw Ginny looking very uncomfortable for the same reason and came to the rescue. "Harry," the brunette got his attention. "You need one more thing before you can face You Know You."

"I do? What?"

"You need the Elder Wand," said Hermione.

"In case you've forgotten, Voldemort's got it!" said Harry, frustrated. "I don't think I can just waltz up to him and snatch it from his hand!"

Hermione and Ginny had been so used to not using the Dark Lord's name recently, that they both flinched slightly upon hearing it. "Um...it's here," said Ginny, as she removed the Wand from her sleeve.

"How?" asked Harry, bewildered. "It can't be the real one?"

"It would take too long to tell you about _all_ of it," said Ginny. "But this _is _the real Elder Wand. You Know Who's wand is a fake. I'm currently the owner of the real one, though; you need to disarm me."

"WHAT?" Harry exclaimed. "How are you the owner? I thought I was!"

"Well, you were and you weren't," said Hermione. "Just trust us when we say Ginny is at the moment, but you have to disarm her."

"Yeah, a quick _Expelliarmus _should do it," said Ginny.

Harry was looking from one woman to the other and back again, almost thinking he was still wandering around in that strange world he'd been in, before coming back to life and to Hogwarts. "I'm not going to throw a curse at you, Ginny!" he said.

"You have to, Harry," replied Ginny. "You need to have and be the owner of the Wand, the same as you need to keep that Ring on your finger and your Cloak on your person too."

"What's going on?" he asked, not really keeping up with the information.

"The Deathly Hallows," said Hermione. "You needed to have all three in your physical possession, to do what you must. Had you had them when you faced You Know Who, you would have come back and been ready to fight him, back when he killed you. Anyway, to gloss over things a little, you still need to be in possession of all three Hallows when you face him, to defeat him."

"But, I dropped the Stone in the Forbidden Forest," Harry said, worried.

"No you didn't," smiled Hermione. "It's in that Ring on your finger, the snitch you had, held a fake."

"That explains why nothing happened," said Harry, looking at his hands and discovering he was wearing a ring with a stone identical to the useless one he'd dropped in the Forest. "I wondered what the bloody thing was supposed to do?"

The explosions and noises were getting more constant, and it sounded to the three people in the Trophy Room as though battle was being waged much closer to them now, maybe even in the Great Hall.

"We don't have time, Harry," said Ginny, sternly. "We used to practise curses on each other in the DA, so stop dithering and take this ruddy Wand from me?"

"Here, use my wand," said Hermione, handing her wand to Harry. "I didn't find any other on you."

A little dazed by all the information, Harry accepted Hermione's wand, which he'd used before to a nearly acceptable degree. He pointed the wand at Ginny's hand holding the Elder Wand. "I don't like this."

"Harry, just do it!" said an almost angry Ginny.

"_Expelliarmus!"_ Harry directed the spell, and Ginny was surprisingly blown back a little, and ended up on her backside on the floor, as the Elder Wand spun up into the air and was caught by Harry.

Hermione went to Ginny. "Are you okay?" she asked, a little miffed that Harry had used so much power to take the Wand. Then another thought came to her. _Expelliarmus worked on Ginny while she was wearing that necklace, _she thought, _it doesn't seem to work against that, then? Nevermind, the Wand is in Harry's hands now._

"Yeah, I'm fine," Ginny said, as she got back to her feet.

"I'm going to try it out," said Harry, as he studied the Wand, handed back Hermione's, and walked over to some of the broken trophy cases on the other side of the room.

"No problem," said Hermione. "I need a word with Ginny."

"What do you need a word with me about?" asked the redhead, then she continued in a whisper. "We can't tell him yet, if that's what you mean?"

"No, I wasn't thinking about that...trying not to anyway," replied Hermione. "I just wanted to talk to you because we have no way of knowing what's going to happen up there. We might get split up or...or something."

"Well the answer to that, is to take care and try to stick together," said Ginny with half a smile. Hermione wasn't smiling much, however.

Ginny studied Hermione, wanting so badly to wrap her arms around her and hold her for a few minutes, but knowing she couldn't with Harry nearby, so she made do with holding her hand casually. "What's wrong?"

"Everything, I suppose," said Hermione tiredly. "I don't know how much I have left. I need to be alert, I need to be ready to act, but as we don't know what things will be like once we leave the Trophy Room, it's difficult. I know we complained about all of those blasted plans we had to make, but at least we had a direction and an idea of what might happen and what we had to try and _make _happen."

"The fear of the unknown," stated Ginny.

"Fear?"

"I admit to feeling it as we stand here," said Ginny. "It's okay to admit to feeling it too, Hermione." Ginny continued in a whisper. "You're not alone anymore. You have me helping out, sharing the burdens. We'll face this together."

"I'm being a bit morose and melodramatic," sighed Hermione. "And you noticed that the necklace didn't prevent Harry from magically disarming you?"

"Oh! I nearly forgot I was wearing it!" said Ginny. "Maybe it really does only protect against bogey hexes or something? I can't be bothered to take it off, at least I won't get a runny nose if it protects against minor playground crap!" She smiled, trying to pass on some energy and warmth to Hermione. "Well, we've got this far. You worked bloody miracles with Harry, so everything could be worse. We'll head out there together and then we can snooze on each other later. We're going to be fine."

It was hard for Hermione not to feel lifted by Ginny's words. _She always makes me feel better, _she thought, _she makes me feel like I'm capable of anything. _She smiled back warmly. "I feel a bit better already, thanks to you. Maybe a problem shared really is a problem halved."

They were both distracted by the sound of scraping glass, as Harry was trying to mend a trophy cabinet with the Elder Wand on the other side of the room.

Ginny held Hermione's hand still, and looked at Elizabeth Woodville's ring, then whispered even more quietly than before. "If we were alone I'd like to take off that ring and place it onto your finger myself. If only to show you that yours is the only hand I _want_ to place rings on."

That confession took Hermione's breath away. _I so wish I could hold her, kiss her right now, _she thought, _and not a little peck, a proper kiss._ "I love you," she said, but so quietly that she more mouthed it than actually said it.

Closing her eyes for a couple of seconds and trying to prevent any tears, Ginny nodded and smiled, before she silently mouthed "I love you too."

They all heard the very definite sounds of duels from nearby now. They would have to let Harry take his chance soon. "Harry, I think it might be best if you went into the Great Hall under your Cloak," said Hermione.

"Yeah, I was thinking that too," he said, as he searched his pockets and pulled out the Cloak. "I need to see what's going on before anyone knows I'm back and alive."

"I think the time has arrived," said Hermione. "Are you comfortable with the Wand?"

"I'll never be comfortable with _this_ wand!" said Harry, staring at it in his hand. "But it does seem to respond to me as well as even my old wand did." For perhaps the first time, Harry looked around the Trophy Room properly, then back at the two girls; the thought that hit him, made him feel slow, sluggish and a little ashamed as to why he hadn't considered it before. "Where's Ron?"

"He's guarding the other side of the door for us," said Hermione. "He...er...doesn't know about you. No time to explain, but only us two know about bringing you back."

"He's all right?" asked Harry.

"He was when we left him there," replied Ginny.

"Good...I just wondered...," Harry said, shaking his head, his mind feeling very slow. "Anyway, shall we get back there, now?"

"If you're ready?" asked Hermione.

"I don't think I'll ever be bloody ready, but I don't really have a choice," said Harry resignedly.

"We'll do whatever we can to help," said Ginny.

"I'm not sure anyone can help much, it sort of has to be me and Him," said Harry, as he walked over to Ginny. "You've done more for me than you can ever imagine," he said, as he placed a small soft kiss on Ginny's lips and embraced her.

Ginny had been too surprised to react, and when she felt Harry's lips on hers she felt panic rise in her chest. _No! What must Hermione think! _A part of her couldn't deny it was a feeling of immense happiness to see Harry alive again and to actually feel him hug her, but to her it already felt very platonic. Like the Wand changing allegiance, her heart and mind had chosen Hermione, and being in Harry's arms now felt wrong.

Hermione had been equally taken off guard, and found the hand without her wand gripped tightly in a fist. _Calm down, _she thought, _you can't do anything about it now. _

Harry walked over to Hermione and hugged her too, taking both her and Ginny by surprise again. "Whatever happens, thank you," Harry said. "I hope I get the chance to hear all the details about how you know what you know and...and all that stuff."

"Um...yeah, it's quite a tale," said a very rattled Hermione. Part of her was overjoyed that Harry was alive and she hugged him back, another part of her was deeply confused over how her relationship with Ginny would change things.

Harry stood back, sighed and looked at the flight of stone steps leading up to the Great Hall, the direction from which they could hear the sounds of magical battle. "Okay, here we go," he said, as he covered himself with the Cloak. "You two go first, I'll be right behind you."

"How will we know where you are?" asked Ginny, to the place where Harry had last been visible.

"You won't," said Harry. "I might have to move about a bit, maybe even leave the Great Hall. It's better that way. You won't get distracted by wondering where I am, if you don't have any idea about it."

"Wait," said Ginny. "Ron will want to know where your body is. He helped us get you to the Trophy Room."

"We can tell him we left Harry down here, to make it less likely for a Death Eater to steal his body," said Hermione. " It would be a good line to tell anyone else if they notice Harry's body is missing; we're trying to protect him. I know we fed Ron a lie about another horcrux...so...we can say we destroyed it, but we have to wait a while before the next bit of the plan can be worked on."

"He'll ask more about it," said Ginny. "You know what he's like, he won't just swallow it meekly!"

"We can brush him off with a mention of having no time and having to work out something else," Hermione said. "We'll have to deal with it as it happens."

"So, are we ready now?" asked a mildly amused Harry.

"Yes," said Hermione, as she led the way up the steps, Ginny right behind her, and Harry following Ginny under his Cloak.


	60. Altered

**A/N: After the last chapter I was given a laugh and a lot of head-scratching at the ideas of people(some being serious) thinking Harry and Ron are gay in my story? How has anything I've written so far pointed to that? Sorry to disappoint you and to give things away, but I have no intention of those two getting together, and I'm completely baffled as to how people can take that huge leap to thinking that's where I'm heading? :D **

**Honestly, can't a boy character ask after the health of another boy character on this site without everyone assuming he's gay and fancies his friend? LOL If that's the assumption you can take from my story, what on earth do you think of Sam and Frodo in LOTR? LOL Try to think a little literal as well as lateral and not assume that all the stories have all the characters turning gay. Thanks for the laughs, though! LOL **

**This chapter has quite a bit of action and events. There's a small disclaimer at the end.**

**Oh, and as of this week I have finished this story. :) Now for the long process of reading through all the chapters to prepare them and to try and keep to the weekly updates I've been giving you so far. **

**And for anyone concerned that 'M' rated stories might suddenly disappear in FFN's new crackdown, I'll find a new home for this story if it does get deleted.**

60: Altered

Hermione didn't believe in any god, or anything remotely similar; she believed in knowledge and science and human beings. However, as she was about to open the door leading to the Great Hall she muttered an almost silent hope, "Please let us get through this." She opened the door and Ron was still there, but had his wand out. He turned to face Hermione and Ginny as they walked through.

"Blimey, you took your time?" Ron said.

"Sorry, it was a bit more involved than we thought it would be," said Hermione, as she felt what she knew to be Harry brush past her as she stood talking to Ron.

"So did you destroy it?" he asked.

"Yes," said Hermione, hating to lie again, and then she looked up and saw that a line of students and a handful of staff, led by Professor McGonagall were facing the Great Hall's doors, fighting back a tide of Death Eaters. "What's happened here?"

"As you can see, the bastards are trying to break through into here," said Ron gloomily. "We've moved all the d...all the dead to this end where the Teacher's Table used to be." He gestured to the shrouded line of body-shaped lumps to their left, now occupying the raised area where the long table used to be, which had seated all the teachers for every meal time they had known at Hogwarts. "We can keep the Death Eaters at bay, but if they get a giant involved they'll be in here in seconds."

"We ought to go and help," said Ginny.

"Mum won't like that," said her brother. "Besides, wasn't something supposed to happen from what you were doing back there? Weren't you doing something miraculous for McGonagall or Dumbledore or whoever?"

"Um...we have to wait until...until we can do the next bit," Hermione answered.

"Wait? You soon won't have time to wait," scoffed Ron.

All their attentions were taken when a huge explosion blew a hole through the Great Hall's doorway, making the defenders fly back as if they were all hit by _Stupefy _spells. A couple of students were knocked out cold, but McGonagall, Mrs. Weasley and several others were able to get up from the floor and attempt to take steps back towards the doors again.

Everyone was rooted to the spot, however, when Voldemort himself walked in through the blown apart doorway. He actually looked a little tired and on edge, but he oozed confidence. His most loyal supporter, Bellatrix Lestrange was at his side a pace or so back. Several other loyal Death Eaters followed their Dark Lord into the Great Hall. No one in the Hall spoke a word, not daring to and not being able to, from fear and dread; the simple aura of Voldemort was enough to freeze even the strongest of hearts.

"I gave you a choice and you chose badly," said Voldemort. "I still won't let it be said that I wasn't a merciful lord, so once more I'll give you that choice: join me or die. It's your last opportunity, it won't be offered again."

No one said a word, being in the Great Hall made the whole confrontation more claustrophobic and the truth was, most of the remaining defenders were too exhausted to find the fight within themselves.

"What a rabble," sneered Voldemort. "Hogwarts should be a place for the finest witches and wizards, the purest, noblest and most clever. What do we have here? Mudbloods, half-bloods and people who hardly scrape a grade in any subject. You're vile, you degrade what the great founders of this school achieved."

"My lord, why don't we just kill them? There's nothing of any worth. Even the purebloods here have been corrupted beyond hope," said Bellatrix, her wand hand twitching.

"I almost agree with you, Bellatrix," said Voldemort with a creepy smile. Then he scanned the Hall once more and noticed the three people not far from the Trophy Room door. "And what do we have over there?"

If Hermione, Ginny and Ron hadn't seen Voldemort looking at them, they would have _felt_ those eyes burning on them anyway.

"Harry Potter's little friends," said the Dark Lord, in a chillingly humourous tone, as he walked in their direction. "A mudblood and two blood-traitors."

Bellatrix was by her master's side and also looked at the group of three students and glared at Hermione, and as she looked over the brunette she saw the wand in Hermione's hand. "That little mudblood shite has my wand!" shouted the deranged Death Eater, as she took another step forward.

Ginny and Ron raised their wands as if to protect Hermione. "She won't lay a hand on you," Ron whispered, pumped up and ready to place himself between the Death Eater and the person he thought was still his girlfriend.

"She does?" Voldemort inquired vaguely. "Well now, we can't have a mudblood thinking she can use the wand of a Death Eater. You may do what you wish with her. No, perhaps I should make a gift of her to you."

Voldemort took a pace forward and raised his wand, with a sickly smile, knowing that everyone else knew they couldn't stop him, and that even a shielding charm such as _Protego _wouldn't stop him. "Ready to join Potter?" the Dark Lord said to Hermione, smugly.

"Are you talking about me?"

An audible collective gasp filled the Hall, and Voldemort spun round to face Harry, as he appeared to have walked back in through the main doors. The Dark Lord was shocked to the core, he couldn't understand it; it wasn't possible. McGonagall, Flitwick and Mrs. Weasley had put their hands to their mouths in surprise. A couple of students were silently crying, and for many different reasons.

The two Professors had never guessed that _this _was the plan that Dumbledore had devised. They thought the Resurrection Stone was possibly to protect the people that were left, maybe even make them immune to death in some way. They had known the Hallows lore and that the Stone didn't bring people back from the dead, not properly, so they never imagined they would have Harry back again and looking completely corporeal.

"What's the matter, Tom?" asked Harry. "Seen a ghost?"

"Has that anything to do with you two?" Ron asked the two girls in a whisper, with a beaming smile, as he saw his best friend looking very much alive.

"Er...yes," said Hermione. "A very, very long story."

"I bet it is," chuckled Ron, as he lightly placed an arm around Hermione's shoulders. She was too distracted by the scene before them to take notice of the arm.

Bellatrix had turned around to face Harry and had raised her wand, and was about to fire a spell at the Boy Who Lived Again, when Voldemort roared and flicked his hand, sending the wand Bellatrix had been using, flying from her hand. "He's mine! You understand?" the Dark Lord eyed all his Death Eaters. All bowed their heads and took a step back. Bellatrix had scurried off to find the discarded wand she'd been using, which had ended up in another part of the Hall. People were fast to move out of her way, none daring to make eye contact with her.

"Isn't that right, Potter?" said Voldemort. "You're mine." He moved closer to Harry and swished his wand hand, creating a magical shield over the two of them, like a giant bubble, which no one could pass through.

"I've never been yours," said Harry. "You've failed twice to kill me outright, and you'll fail again."

Voldemort raised his hand up, showing off what _he _thought was the Elder Wand. "You will never beat me while I have this wand. Not that you could anyway, Potter. You've just been incredibly lucky. There _was_ a problem," he said, as he walked a few steps to the side, almost like he was in an amphitheatre and acting to the audience, telling them the story. "I couldn't touch him because our wands were like twins. I don't have that problem, now."

"Yes you do," said Harry, also pacing a couple of steps to the side, like they were cats stalking one another. "There are things I know which you don't. Things which you'd never understand."

Voldemort laughed. "Is this all about 'love' again? Or does Harry Potter think he can teach _me _something?" His Death Eaters in the Hall laughed.

"Would you like to know what I know?" asked Harry.

"I think it would be very boring," sighed Voldemort, trying to toy with Harry and the Hall's occupants. "But I will allow it, as your last request."

"You're not the real owner of the Wand," said Harry.

Again Voldemort laughed. "Oh but I am, I've vanquished the previous owner."

"No you haven't," said Harry. "Snape was never the owner of the Wand." For the first time, there was a flicker of doubt in the snake-like eyes that looked back at him.

"Yeah, that's right," said Harry. "Snape killed Dumbledore, but he didn't get to him in time to disarm him first, beside the fact Snape was acting on Dumbledore's orders. Professor Dumbledore had asked Snape to kill him, when the time was right. He was dying, anyway." There were some more little gasps of shock from around the Hall.

"Snape was _my_ creature," said Voldemort, adamantly. "He worked for _me_, and fooled your lot!"

"Wrong again," said Harry. "Snape was a true and loyal colleague to Dumbledore and to the Order. Everything he ever told you, every bit of information was fed to you and set up. That man had more courage than you'll ever have, or understand."

Anger flashed dangerously across Voldemort's face, but he tried to calm himself. "No matter, I killed him, he's no use to anyone now, is he?" the Dark Lord gave a little laugh. "So who is supposedly the owner of my wand, Potter? Or did you make it all up, ridiculously hoping that I'd be unbalanced by it?"

"Well, Draco Malfoy had a brief claim to the Wand. He disarmed Dumbledore the night he died, before Snape carried out the final act," Harry said, watching Voldemort's face closely. "You don't have to kill the owner, just disarm them, but you'd never understand that simple fact, Tom. Anyway, I disarmed Draco so the Wand belongs to me."

This time Voldemort giggled, which was peculiar to hear. "I see, well, why don't you come and take it from me, if it's yours?"

"I don't need to," replied Harry, giving nothing away in his own facial expressions.

"Ah, is this the part where you claim that a legend says the Wand will jump out of my hand and find it's true owner?"

"No," said Harry, as he felt the Wand in his pocket, ready. "I don't need to take it from you because I already have it, here." He pulled out the Elder Wand.

Voldemort narrowed his fierce eyes and looked at the wand in Harry's hand, then at the one he held himself; he could see they looked very alike. Then he gave a few 'tut tut' noises. "Do you really think you can distract me like that?" he asked. "I'm beyond being moved by tricks!"

"The wand you hold is a fake," said Harry. "Don't believe me?" He chose the moment to fling a curse at Voldemort, hoping against hope that this would work in his favour.

As had happened before, their wands seemed to join; a beam of light connected between them, sheer power crackling around the two wizards. Harry's hands almost burned from trying to hold that power. Hermione and Ginny watched on with the rest of the Hall, hoping the Elder Wand and the other Hallows on his person would be enough to fulfill the destiny on Harry's side.

It wasn't long after the two wands joined battle, that Harry began to feel the true power of the Elder Wand, as if it was an extension of his own arm. It almost felt like the Wand was tapping into his own thoughts and wishes. With a renewed confidence, Harry briefly closed his eyes as he was thinking, _Finish it! _In seconds power surged through him and pushed back Voldemort.

The Dark Lord's face showed real concern for the first time, perhaps for the first time in his life. He felt weaker, he felt...old.

Grunting with effort, Harry willed his desire to end it through his body, and the Wand responded. A burning light, which made many in the Hall have to shield their eyes, soared through the joined wands and pushed Voldemort back onto his knees.

Harry walked towards the Dark Lord, closer and closer, pushing the power from the Elder Wand with each step, until he was merely feet away from his adversary. "It's over," he said, and with a last surge of power, the wand in Voldemort's hand flew out of his grip as he crumpled to the ground. In seconds his eyes had gone dead, nothing moved. Wondering if it was some crafty last trick of Voldemort's, Harry walked closer to him.

"Be careful, Harry!" shouted Hermione.

Walking up to Voldemort, Harry stuck out a cautious foot and prodded the Dark Lord in the stomach. There was no movement. He repeated the action, but gave more of a kick. No response. He carefully crouched and reached out with his hand in a tight fist and nudged Voldemort's jaw. Then there was a stir of movement...

"Shit!" Harry fell over backwards, and the Hall became tense, thinking the two wizards would be back duelling again. The Death Eaters were confident that their Dark Lord had some cunning plan and would spring up more powerful than before.

It had been a twitch in Voldemort's body which had caused Harry to fall over, scrabbling to get away, but it wasn't a stirring of life. Sitting on his backside a few feet away, Harry watched on in fascination, as it appeared the flesh of Voldemort was melting. Great lumps of his face sloughed off and fell to the floor, but instead of lumps of flesh gathering around the Dark Lord, the flesh simply vanished, leaving wisps of smoke as it disappeared.

In mere moments Harry was left looking at a skeleton in a ragged robe; an old skeleton, which looked like it could have been dug up by an archaeologist on a Roman era excavation. And in seconds he couldn't even see that, as the bones of the skeleton collapsed and disintergrated into dust. It was then that the magical bubble disintergrated too, and seconds hardly passed before the silence in the Hall was broken, by fanatical Death Eaters fighting on.

The remaining Hogwarts defenders in the Hall had been lifted by seeing the Dark Lord finally vanquished, by seeing Harry alive and instigating it. Where exhaustion had affected everyone, pure adrenalin and certain hope now reigned.

Harry scrambled to his feet again and tackled the Death Eaters near the doorway end of the Hall, pushing them back and out of the room. Hermione and Ginny fought alongside Ron, firing spells, both protective and offensive, to various parts of the Hall.

"Why on earth are they still fighting?" shouted Hermione over the noise. "Their Dark Lord is gone. What's the point?"

"I suppose they don't know what else to do," replied Ron. "They're lost as well as mental! Which makes them more dangerous."

"You've got that right!" said a woman's voice.

Ron, Hermione and Ginny turned to the one place they hadn''t looked towards, to be faced by Bellatrix, looking more maniacal then ever.

"I want my wand back, muddy," she directed to Hermione. Bellatrix raised her wand and was about to fling a curse, when Ginny rushed forwards in front of Hermione, before Hermione had even lifted her own wand.

"NO YOU DON'T!" Ginny shouted.

Bellatrix cast a very powerful green-coloured _Avada Kedavra , _and Ginny held up her wand to try and deflect it, knowing she had never faced something so powerful in her life.

To Hermione and Ron watching, it was like everything was in slow motion. "GINNY!" screamed Hermione. "NOOOO!"

Ron and Hermione were stunned to witness Bellatrix's curse hit Ginny's wand and go past the small protective charm she'd managed to cast, heading for her chest. There was a fizzing, crackling sound followed by a loud, solid _thump, _as the curse hit her body. It blasted Ginny backwards against the wall a few feet away and her eyes slowly closed as she crumpled to the floor like a rag doll. Hermione looked on in complete horror, her wand still wasn't raised and she was too shocked to even find a curse to hit back with. Instead she ran the few steps to Ginny and fell to her knees beside her girlfriend, as Bellatrix was giggling, extremely proud of her work and looking forward to piling up the bodies before she got her wand back.

"NOOOOO! NOT MY DAUGHTER, YOU BITCH!" shouted another woman.

Ron, Hermione and the gloating Bellatrix turned to see Mrs. Weasley run at them, throwing curses one after another, pushing back the Death Eater. Bellatrix had been taken completely by surprise and never expected the ferocity from the Weasley mother. With each magical blow, Bellatrix was pushed back, nearly to the wall.

The black-haired woman soon got her footing back in the duel, however, and pushed Mrs. Weasley back into defensive mode, only able to deflect and having no time to cast her own aggressive spells. Ron made to join his mother, but she flicked an arm out and he was flung backwards.

That action made Bellatrix giggle. "Don't worry! His turn will come too, granny!"

The fraction of a second it had taken for the Death Eater witch to voice her smug intentions, was enough for Mrs. Weasley to take the offensive. She pounded spell after spell at her opponent, pushing her back against the wall again, until Bellatrix's wand arm was shaking with exhaustion, unable to do anything other than block the spells now. Mrs. Weasley took her moment and finished it, making Bellatrix wear an expression she had never worn before; fear. It was the expression she would wear to the grave, as her body fell lifelessly to the floor.

With Bellatrix now added to the Death Eater's casualty list, Mrs. Weasley ran the few steps to her equally lifeless daughter. "Ginny! Nooo! Why her? Nooo!" She had tears down her cheeks as she gathered her daughter's body in her arms.

Hermione was looking on feeling numb, and tears were streaming down her cheeks too, as she knelt beside Mrs. Weasley, holding one of her girlfriend's limp hands. Bellatrix's words from one of her dreams were ringing through her skull, _"...And just as you find her and she finds you, you lose her."_ It made her want to scream to block it out. Her fingers briefly moved to Ginny's wrist, looking for a hopeful pulse, but there was none to be found and Ginny's diaphragm was utterly still and bereft of breath. It wasn't a case where CPR would work either; not against _Avada Kedavra._

_This can't be happening, _Hermione thought, _what is the point of it all, if she dies? Did Dumbledore see this? DID he? We knew that bloody necklace was as useful as a chocolate teapot! We knew it didn't protect life, anyway; it didn't even stop Harry from taking the Wand...but then, I never expected Ginny to step in front of Bellatrix either. If only we'd moved on and gone over to Harry, or...or...Argghhh!_

Ron knelt beside his mother, staring at his sister blankly, not wanting to believe what had happened. "Not another one," he said in a mumble. "Haven't they taken enough from us?"

"No," said Hermione. "This shouldn't have happened."

"My darling daughter," said Mrs. Weasley, as she held onto her youngest child.

The three of them sat around Ginny's body, with her mother holding her across her lap, stroking her hair. Ron had timidly reached forward to hold his sister's other hand, blinking back tears, frequently looking up at the windows and swallowing hard as if trying to avoid being sick. Battle was still being waged in the Hall but it was much less now and it seemed the Hogwarts defenders were pushing the battle outside again.

Hermione sat holding her late lover's hand, staring at a peaceful-looking Ginny, as Mrs. Weasley held her. The brunette was taking in every detail of Ginny's face, as if saving it to memory, to never forget any part of it; every freckle, every line where she'd seen her laugh, how her cheeks would blush. As hard as she tried to stare and take in the scene before her, Hermione's vision was frequently blurred by her tears, which she wiped away fiercely, not wanting to miss a moment of the time she had left with her love. Her stomach felt heavy, as if she'd swallowed a block of iron.

_I truly loved her, _thought Hermione, _I loved her more than I thought was possible for a person to love. _She became aware of a sensation in her chest; it was a pain, a ripping pain that made her feel inconsolable. She felt so empty and sore that she suddenly felt she couldn't care less what happened now. _How do I go on? After everything, what was the point of it all? What is the point of it now? I know Harry's alive and I'm being selfish, but without her, there's _no_ point for me. _The agonizing flood of 'what ifs' came to her again. She knew it was futile and wouldn't change anything, but the mind naturally found answers in hindsight.

_If I used the Time-Turner, I could go back and change this horrible part, _she thought, _I know it would break the rules...FUCK the bloody rules! I'll do it! I'll do anything to get her back. If I at least try, anything to take away this awful pain. _

It was then that Hermione reached into her pocket and took out the Time-Turner, careful to shield it from the other two, although Ron and Mrs. Weasley weren't paying her any attention. Seriously considering using it, if it was at all functionable, Hermione looked at the instrument. She had a feeling like a kick in the stomach when she saw that the diamond of the Time-Turner had gone black and there was a large crack down the centre of it. _There goes my last chance...unless McGonagall has another one? I don't care what she says, I'll even fight her if I have a chance at another Time-Turner, _she thought. _Shit! Listen to me...I'm an idiot, a bloody idiot...who let her lover walk in front of her, to take the death that should have been mine..._

"If only...if only she hadn't stepped in front of me," said Hermione out loud. "Why, Ginny? Why?" she directed her despair at her lover's body, before having to close her eyes, trying to block out the truth in front of her. "You didn't have to defend me like that. If only you hadn't..."

"You'd be dead if I hadn't!" croaked a voice, followed by some wheezy breathing and some coughs, as a lifeless body suddenly moved.

"GINNY?" Mrs. Weasley nearly shouted, echoed by her son and Hermione. "What? HOW?"

_She's alive? _Hermione thought, even though she could still feel an almost wrenching pain in her chest from loss. _She's not gone! She's alive!_

"Mum, I'm fine," said Ginny, breathing easier, after her body had kick-started itself back into life; she was still clamped in her mother's embrace, though. "Just a little winded or knocked out, I think."

"You're _fine? _Bellatrix used _Avada Kedavra _on you, you weren't breathing and you're _FINE_? How are you even alive? Have you got a scar now, like Harry?" asked a still nearly frantic Mrs. Weasley, as she pushed back Ginny's hair looking for evidence of some mark.

Ginny managed to wriggle free of her mother a little and replied, "I think it might have been this." She pulled her shirt collar down to show the gold, hare pendant necklace.

"Where the bloody hell did you get that?" asked Ron, his eyes wide, only now finding his voice again, but continuing to look a little pale.

"It worked? But...," said Hermione, her mind working frantically, as she clasped Ginny's hand, and without caring how it might look, she hugged her tightly. _It worked, _she thought, _I take it all back, it worked! HOW did it work? Oh bugger that now... _"I'm so glad I got you to wear it! I don't think anyone knew it could do THAT, though? It didn't stop Harry before."

"Hello? Is anyone going to start explaining?" asked Ron.

"Yes, I'd like to know what's going on here?" asked their utterly bewildered and emotionally drained mother.

"Not here," said Hermione, wiping away tears which had turned from despair to joy. "There's no time to explain." Then she looked back to Ginny, smiling, so relieved that she was alive. "I would have faced her, you know," she said. "You didn't have to protect me like that."

"She was going to kill you!" said Ginny. "She wasn't going to give you time to bow and prepare. My instincts kicked in, I couldn't take the chance that she was going to kill you in one strike."

"I know, I know," said Hermione, as she gave Ginny another hug, then whispered for her ears only. "I thought she _had _got _you_. It was awful. What would I have done had she got you?"

"She didn't because you saved me by making me wear the necklace," said Ginny smiling. "Though, you must have known I wasn't gone? I must have had a pulse still?"

"Er no, you didn't," said Hermione. "We saw the green flash...and as it was Bellatrix, and you weren't breathing or moving or had a pulse...we all thought..." Hermione couldn't voice the rest of her sentence because she feared she might start sobbing, from feeling so emotionally raw.

"What did you think you were doing?" Mrs. Weasley almost shrieked at Ginny. "Facing Bellatrix like that?"

"She was going to kill Hermione, I had to do something," said Ginny.

Mrs. Weasley didn't know what to say to that and her face was a picture of conflicting and confusing expressions, making the onlooker wonder if she was practising for a gurning championships; part of her wanted to scream at her daughter's actions, but a bigger part of her was proud at her daughter's bravery, so she embraced her tightly again.

As they all moved to stand up, Ginny only slightly having to find her feet again, feeling a little sore in the chest, she extricated herself from her mother and hugged onto Hermione instead. "We're still both here," she whispered into Hermione's ear. "We're still together."

"I really thought you were dead," Hermione was able to reply, a tear or two rolling down her cheeks unbidden.

"I might have been for only moments, but I'm fine...we're both fine," whispered Ginny, soothingly.

"What is it with you two?" asked Ron, irritated. "You act all secretive, suddenly have knowledge of stuff I've never heard of, produce mystical daggers and gold necklaces, which somehow allows Ginny to survive the Killing Curse, and you somehow bring Harry back to life. And if that's not enough, you start whispering?"

"Sorry, Ron," said Hermione, pulling out of her embrace with Ginny, feeling a little self-conscious. "I promise we'll tell you all about it, eventually, when there's time to think. Harry wants to know about things too. But for now perhaps we can help with the clearing up of this Battle."

There were only a few wounded left in the Great Hall now, with Madam Pomfrey the nurse attending them with an assistant. Several of them kept subtly looking over in their direction, wondering what was going on, probably thinking Ginny had been killed too and amazed that she was seemingly standing up and talking.

"I have so much to do," said Mrs. Weasley, amazingly nearly recovered from the horrendous shock of almost losing her daughter moments before. Ginny and Ron recognized the expression their mother now wore, it was her 'Mum means business' face. If anything, the recent experience of grief had made Mrs. Weasley even more determined to finish the battle.

"Then do what you have to, Mum," said Ron. "We'll be all right. Just you take care of yourself!"

His mother eyed them all, and realized that she was needed elsewhere, and there were three of the kids together, very able young adults in fact. "Get somewhere safe if you can," she said to them. "Try to stay out of duels, unless you can be three against one."

"Okay," said Ron, knowing that scenario was very unlikely, but not wanting his mother to fuss over them any longer.

Mrs. Weasley gave them a beaming smile, hugged Ginny fiercely again, before she scurried off down the Hall and out of the doors. No duels were taking place in the Hall now, it seemed to be outside in the rest of the school, on floors above or out in the grounds. The Death Eaters were getting less and less in number, partly due to some simply walking away, wanting to live another day.

Following a few moments later, Ron, Ginny and Hermione walked out of the Great Hall and looked around, immediately having to dodge a wayward _Stupefy _spell. Just outside the doorway was a prone Fenrir Greyback, knocked out and tied up.

"Glad that bastard's been taken care of," said Ron, wanting to spit on the vile creature responsible for his brother's facial scars.

"Where's Harry?" asked Ginny.

"I don't know," said Ron. "I didn't see where he went after Voldemort...melted, or whatever it was he did. We got involved with other things and then we had the Bellatrix problem to deal with, so I didn't see where he went."

The three of them decided to walk up the Grand Staircase, it was as good a place to start as any. Hermione couldn't help taking extra glances at Ginny, not quite believing how close she had come to losing her, then realized how alert she needed to stay and tried to focus on their way ahead.

On the flight of stairs leading to the First Floor Corridor, they were faced with a medium-sized spider; three well-aimed curses killed the creature, as it curled up, rolled off the side of the stairs, where a bannister used to be, and landed to the floor below, upside down and very dead.

Not seeing any action, as they peeped through to the Corridor, they went up the next flight. They heard someone cast a spell from the Second Floor Corridor, at the top of the next flight of stairs.

"That's Luna's voice," said Ginny, running past the other two, taking the lead. Another curse was cast. "And that's Harry!"

"Ginny! Wait!" shouted Ron.

"Ginny, wait for us!" echoed Hermione. _Where the hell does she think she's going, now? _she thought. _I know I can't keep her on a leash...but I... _She didn't get to finish her thought.

Ginny was nearly the whole flight of steps ahead of Hermione and Ron, not worrying about what she might face, feeling confident enough to just take the lead. It was then her instincts hit her once more, and for unknown reasons she dived to the floor, sprawling across the doorway to the corridor, as a powerful blasting spell flew over her head and bounced around behind her. With a huge crash and a scream and a yell, Ginny turned her head to see the flight of stairs she had climbed moments before, had broken in two and were falling away.

"HERMIONE!" Ginny shouted.

Hermione and Ron had been thrown off the stairs, but as many times before, the brunette ensured that both she and Ron landed controlled and softly onto the floor below.

"Ginny?" Hermione called up. "GINNY?"

"I'm okay!" Ginny shouted back. "Are you?"

"Yes we're fine. Listen, you find Luna and Harry, and stay with them!" Hermione shouted, unable to keep a tone of distress from her voice at being separated from the red-haired woman, after so recently nearly losing her forever.

"Okay, you and Ron stay together too, right?" Ginny shouted in reply.

"Luna, duck!" came Harry's voice from the corridor.

"I have to go," said Ginny. "See you later!"

"You take care!" shouted Hermione, feeling her chest tighten. _Take care of yourself Ginny, because I can't bear the thought of my world without you in it. I felt it for a few minutes back there in the Hall and it was terrifying. I hate being apart from you...it feels like I'm leaving a limb behind...or my heart..._

"Mum will kill us for splitting up," said Ron, bringing Hermione's thoughts back to her current circumstances.

"Well, we couldn't help it," said Hermione. "Odd and unexpected things happen in battles."

"So where do we go?"

"It's too far around without the stairs to take the long route to meet up with Ginny and the others. So, let's head outside and see if we can help clear the courtyards," said Hermione, knowing if she stayed in the castle she'd be thinking too much about Ginny and be easily distracted.

They hadn't walked many steps out of the main doors of the castle when a dementor floated towards them menacingly. Ron was quick to act and his dog patronus flew out of his wand and chased the dementor away, actually snapping its jaws at the dementor's straggly robes. They could see several of the horrible entities floating around, with various patronuses fighting them back.

"Those awful things are completely out of control," said Hermione.

"Were they ever _under _control?" asked Ron.

"I suppose we go where we think we're needed," said Hermione, scanning the scene before them. "The far left end of the courtyard looks a bit busy, let's head there."

"Lead on," said Ron.

Back on the Second Floor, Ginny had got to her feet and cautiously walked into the corridor. _I hate being parted from Hermione, _she thought, _I hate not knowing where she'll be and if she's safe. Please come back to me Hermione. _Turning her attention back to the corridor, she could see Luna and Harry up ahead, right at the other end, pushing back and fighting a Death Eater. She thought she vaguely recognized their opponent, but the name escaped her. It looked like they'd already dealt with one Death Eater, as a man was unconscious and tied up against the wall nearby, as she walked past.

Ginny was around forty paces away, with her wand ready, when Luna used a very fast _Incarcerous _as Harry used _Petrificus Totalus _at the same time, and the remaining Death Eater was defeated, tied up and petrified.

With the corridor clear, Harry turned to Luna and hugged her. "Fantastic job!"

"It worked well, didn't it?" Luna said, not at all surprised by their success. "I wonder if he was so resilient because he thought he had a chance to get your wand?" the blonde girl suggested.

"You could be right," said Harry. "I hate the bloody thing. No wonder Dumbledore kept it quiet, or he'd have had to have faced an optimistic power-hungry nutcase every single day."

At that moment, Ginny stopped and watched, it made her think of the bizarre dream she'd had, where Harry and Luna were kissing at Grimmauld Place. _I think I'd almost like it, if he ended up with Luna, _she thought. _They'd be good for each other...in an odd sort of way._

"I think you did a great job with Voldemort," Luna told Harry. "Something tells me you needed to have the Wand for that, so it's not all bad."

"I didn't know it would end in the way it did," Harry said. "I hoped it would end well for all of us, but I didn't know in exactly what way that would happen."

Neither Harry nor Luna had seen Ginny a few paces away from them, although she was in the shadows and not very visible. As Ginny was about to make her way to them, a dark object came silently through a glassless window into the corridor, between the redhead and her friends. In seconds Ginny knew it was a dementor, as it sped along the corridor towards Harry and Luna. Without much thought, Ginny held her wand out and produced her patronus, and sent it rushing to the dementor.

Harry and Luna had turned, somehow sensing that something was going to attack them, and although having seen the dementor just in time, they were surprised to see a patronus chasing it away for them.

"Thanks Hermione!" shouted Harry, back up the corridor. It was then, that Harry saw Ginny, standing with her wand outstretched. "Ginny? Where did Hermione go?"

"Hermione?" she asked, walking up to her friends.

"She was with you, wasn't she?" asked Harry.

"No, she and Ron got cut off when a flight of stairs collapsed," replied Ginny, before quickly adding, "They're okay, though."

"Then how did her patronus end up in this corridor?" asked Harry.

"Her patronus? _I_ sent the patronus. I saw that dementor come in through the window," said Ginny.

"Then how did her otter appear?" asked Luna, remembering everyone's patronuses from the DA meetings, and knowing that Ginny's was a horse.

"Her otter?" asked Ginny. _I was looking at the dementor and at Harry and Luna, so I didn't take much notice of my patronus. An otter is smaller than a horse and more kind of squirty in movement. I thought my patronus looked a bit smaller than usual and almost deformed; maybe it's because I'm tired? Although, WHY did Hermione's otter come from my wand? _she thought confused.

"Yes, it was _her_ otter," said Harry, as he studied Ginny.

In very recent hours Harry had learned a little about the lore of patronus formation, and the reasons for someone's patronus to change form to someone else's; it seemed to point to the caster being very stressed around the circumstances of being in love with that person. He thought of Snape and his mother and the doe patronus. He even thought of Tonks and her werewolf-like patronus, when she was in love with Lupin and stressed that he was pushing her away. That didn't make sense to Harry at all, as he stood here now. He wondered if stress alone could cause it, and the stairs collapsing moments before, might have put Hermione to the forefront of Ginny's mind. _It's certainly not because Ginny's in love with Hermione,_ he thought, _that would be plain ridiculous!_

"I have no idea why I conjured an otter patronus?" said a baffled Ginny, bringing Harry back to the present.

"A lot of weird things have been happening," said Luna dreamily. "After all, Harry's back and _that's_ very strange."

"I had a little help with that," said Harry. But he was thinking again. _Something as big as me dying and then being brought back...surely it would have made more sense if Ginny's patronus had changed to a stag, wouldn't it? _

Whatever the case, Harry was troubled by the whole thing, mainly because his mind was nearly obsessing in trying to find a reason for the change, as if he knew he would find the answer if he thought about it long enough. Yet again he felt as though his mind hadn't truly woken up yet.

**A/N: So did anyone want to hate me for letting you think I'd killed Ginny there for a few paragraphs? :) I enjoyed writing that. Nothing like a little despair. :) But it wasn't the right time for her to die there. ;)**

**Anyway a big thank you to JK Rowling for possibly the best line in all the books from Mrs. Weasley, which I HAD to use. So glad they left that in the movie...always got a rousing cheer in the cinema. :)**


	61. Seeing It

**A/N: This is the beginning of all the chapters I call 'Aftermath'. There are a few chapters where not much actual time passes, but other things happen. **

**Your ideas and wonderings over what will happen next have been interesting and at times entertaining. However, I won't be answering direct things on my plans for the characters because that would be a bit like picking up a new book and reading the last few pages first. :)**

**I've tried hard with this story to make sure all loose ends and things left 'hanging' are woven into the story and tied up. Having finished the very last chapter the other day, I'm fairly happy that I've achieved that, but will also leave things for the imagination to ponder on too. As in real life not all possibilities **_**can **_**or **_**should **_**be completed.**

**In the current un-checked format this story ends with Chapter 83. I'm either going to hear groans of boredom, or laughs of happiness about that fact. LOL **

61: Seeing It

The Battle was heading to its inevitable end, with no Death Eaters left; that is to say they were either dead, had left Hogwarts to go into hiding or were tied up and would be dealt with by aurors and the new Ministry which was currently in an intermission phase. Everyone not on Voldemort's side seemed to assume their new Minister for Magic would be Kingsley Shacklebolt. He had fought alongside them and had more backbone and dignity than the previous five Ministers put together.

Ron and Hermione had been dealing with spiders, eliminating some and pushing back the rest, and the two of them now stood on the path that led to the Owlery, both tired and battle-weary. When they'd reached the area of the courtyard they'd chosen to help, they had been fighting alongside Bill and Fleur for a while, before they pushed back a group of spiders to a different part of the courtyard and then away further. They briefly had to deal with an irate giant, but even the giants had lost their motivation, and were drifting away from Hogwarts. The remaining spiders seemed to have scurried back to the Forbidden Forest now, as if they had heard an order to retreat. Both Ron and Hermione had some minor cuts and bruises, none that they actually felt due to the situation they were in, the adrenalin blocking out normal pain sensations.

"Shame we couldn't kill every single one of the creepy buggers!" said Ron fiercely, before almost shuddering.

"I don't think they'll be venturing far from the Forest in the near future," said Hermione, as they began to walk back towards the main castle.

"We make a fantastic team," said Ron with a laugh.

"Yeah, not bad."

Ron then threw an arm around Hermione again as they walked. She was too tired to make an attempt to get away from it, and wasn't ready to answer any questions that would surely come if she flinched from him. _Just accept it as a friendly arm. Think of it as just a 'friend' thing, _she thought to herself. _After all, _he _doesn't know that anything is different._

They passed one or two students making their way back to the Castle too; some limping, some laughing, even if they _were_ covered in blood. They saw Neville a long way ahead of them, entering the main doors with Aberforth walking next to him, animated in conversation. And walking from another part of the courtyard were Dean and Seamus, with the former helping the latter to hobble along.

"At least _they_ all made it," said Ron. "It's horrible to think we just won't know until everyone's together again."

"I hope all of your family are okay," said Hermione in a quiet voice.

"I've tried not to think about it."

Their direct path to the main entrance doors, across the Entrance Courtyard, was blocked by rubble, when a wall collapsed when they were hardly ten feet away from it, so they had to take an alternative route. They walked along a stone corridor which would take them to the main doors from around the outside of the courtyard.

Hermione genuinely hoped that all the Weasleys were unharmed and that they wouldn't have to experience anymore grief, but her mind was really only thinking about Ginny. _Please be all right, Ginny, _she thought, _if something's happened to you and I wasn't with you...I can't bear to..._

Hermione didn't get to finish her thoughts, as a very ragged dementor swished around the corner of the stone corridor, aiming for her and Ron. On pure instinct they both pointed their wands and conjured their patronuses, which flew at the dementor at great speed. The dementor was chased away with very little effort.

Ron turned to look at Hermione, as she stood there, her wand still outstretched, breathing fast, her face a picture of concentration. _I could have sworn..., _he thought, _no, I'm imagining things._

They walked cautiously to the corner of the stone corridor and as they turned, another dementor, or the same one stupidly lingering, came at them. Again, Ron and Hermione produced their patronus charms and chased the creature away.

This time Hermione was aware of something. _That wasn't an otter I cast, _she thought, _I'm sure it wasn't? Oh, maybe being tired mangled the formation of it._

_I know what I saw this time, _thought Ron, as he looked at Hermione again. "Hermione?" he said, getting her attention. "Have you changed your patronus?"

"No, not knowingly," she answered. "I don't think you can consciously change a patronus, it's like a fingerprint or signature. I'm not sure what I cast just now, but I think it was a messy blob or something, probably because I'm tired. I was looking at the dementor not at my patronus."

"Well, it wasn't an otter," said Ron.

"Does it matter?" asked Hermione. "It got rid of the dementor, that's the main thing."

"True," said Ron. _She produced a horse patronus, _he thought, _it looked identical to Ginny's. Why the hell would she cast Ginny's patronus? Nevermind, strange shit has been happening in the last couple of hours, maybe it's affected a lot of things._

When Ron and Hermione got back to the Great Hall, it was full of students, staff, aurors and several captured Death Eaters, which were being taken one by one down to the dungeons before being taken elsewhere.

Nervously, Ron searched the Hall with his eyes, looking for his family. He saw a large quantity of red hair and his heart nearly stopped as he tried to make out each person standing there. He let out a huge sigh of relief. "They're all there! They made it!" he said, as he nearly ran to his family.

Hermione had been scanning the Hall too and had seen the Weasleys together; she noted each family member, and each person she saw that wasn't Ginny made her feel fear and dread all the stronger. A fraction of a second after Ron had declared his relief, she spotted the long red hair she loved so much and the owner with it. Hermione wanted to skip with glee and relief. Ron was hugging all his family, even Percy, as they all talked over each other, telling their tales of the area of the Battle they had been involved with.

Hermione walked at a normal pace to the Weasley family, almost feeling out of place, as if she would be intruding on a private family reunion. Then Ginny spotted her and with what can only be described as a happy yelp, she bounded the couple of steps to the brunette and hugged her fiercely; thankfully contact in this way was easily construed as behaviour between best friends.

"Are you okay?" asked Hermione, loving the feel of Ginny in her arms as they embraced.

"Yeah, fine. Luna and Harry had finished off the last Death Eater there, when I arrived in that corridor," said Ginny. "It was a very uneventful wander around a few floors, then back to here. We had to get here the long way round, because of the missing stairs...we hardly had to raise our wands for anything else, how about you? Are _you_ all right?" she asked, as she pulled back from their hug, at arm's length, to check Hermione for any obvious injuries.

"I'm fine," said Hermione, smiling.

"You look a bit battered," said Ginny, as she raised a hand to Hermione's cheek, lightly turning the brunette's head to the light, to check out a nasty cut and bruise there.

"Just a bit of flying rubble, I expect, nothing major. We mostly had to push back spiders; very unsettling, but quite easy, because it wasn't long before they all started to scuttle back to the Forbidden Forest anyway. Where's Harry?"

"He's around here somewhere, he was talking to my Dad a minute ago," said Ginny, but she became distracted by wanting to ask Hermione about something. "Did you have anything odd happen to you?" asked Ginny.

"Odd? In what way?" replied Hermione, with a little laugh. "After what you and I have been through, 'odd' can mean anything?"

"Did any spells or charms you cast go strange or do things you didn't expect?"

"My patronus was a bit off, and Ron said it wasn't my otter. I was looking at the dementor we were facing, not what came from my wand. I put it down to tiredness." Ginny got hold of Hermione's arm and led them a bit further away from the rest of the Weasleys. "What's wrong?" asked Hermione in a whisper.

"My patronus was odd too. I also thought it was because I was tired, it looked sort of deformed. However, I was using it to stop a dementor from attacking Harry and Luna and they saw exactly what it was."

"What was it?"

"Your otter," whispered Ginny, looking around to see if anyone was watching them.

"My otter patronus?" asked Hermione. "How?"

"That's just it, I don't know! I didn't knowingly do anything."

"That _is _very odd!" said Hermione, now seeing Harry for the first time, talking to Professor McGonagall not far from the Weasleys, he turned and smiled at her and she smiled back. "I don't know much about patronuses, but I know they're individual to the witch or wizard. I'm not sure how yours could change, and especially without knowing it?"

"Anyway, let me clean up your face, and heal your cheek," said Ginny, taking Hermione's hand and walking them to a bench near a table, which had some potion bottles and bandages on it.

Harry had been relieved to see Ron and Hermione wander in through the Great Hall's doors. Both looked exhausted and had obviously suffered a few cuts and bruises, as he saw Ginny inspecting Hermione's injured cheek. "Professor," he said, directing his thoughts back to the Headmistress. "If there's anything else you think I can help with, let me know."

"You've done more than enough already, Potter," McGonagall said, with a pride that was close to shedding tears.

Harry walked back to the Weasley family and slapped Ron on the back. "How ya doing?" he asked.

"All right," said Ron. "Nothing that exciting to talk about. After you did your flashy coming-back-to-life-and-killing-Voldemort bit, it was all rather boring!" he said laughing.

"Urgh, I need to sit down," said Harry tiredly. He walked with Ron to some chairs a little away from the Weasleys, but from which he could still see Ginny and Hermione.

"I say 'boring'," said Ron. "Ginny tried to get between Bellatrix and Hermione, and that mad old bat threw an _Avada Kedavra_ at her and it sort of killed her but only winded her!"

"She did _what_? And it..._what_?" Harry exclaimed.

"Yeah, Ginny's wearing some weird necklace which seems to have let her survive the Killing Curse. Anyway, Hermione said something about being glad she made Ginny wear it, and a lot of other stuff I didn't understand, and then we all went looking for you. They said they'd eventually explain it all, but I'm not sure it will make sense, even if they do."

"There's a lot they haven't told us," said Harry, wondering if this mystery necklace could be responsible for altering Ginny's patronus. "I haven't a clue how they brought me back. Or how Ginny was the rightful owner of the Elder Wand, which incidentally, she happened to have up her sleeve!"

It was Ron's turn to be dumbfounded. "She had the...the Wand? How? She only left the Hall for half an hour? Surely she didn't find it in the toilet, because I'm not buying that for a second!"

"Yeah, she had it and I had to take it from her to gain ownership of it properly," said Harry. "I've no idea how, but Voldemort's wand was a fake. AND Hermione and Ginny also had the real Resurrection Stone Hallow." Harry showed Ron the ring on his finger.

"I thought it was in that ruddy snitch?"

"No, that was a fake too."

"What the bloody hell has been going on here?"

"No idea," said Harry. He looked over to Hermione and Ginny, the latter was gently holding Hermione's jaw, tilting it to the light as she used dittany on the brunette's cheek wound. Hermione flinched as the liquid stung, and Ginny stroked the brunette's cheek with her thumb, soothingly. _Ginny is such a kind, caring person, _he thought, wishing he had an injury she could heal for him.

Harry continued to watch, mesmerized by Ginny's gentle hands; with the cut and bruise healed, he saw her get a small bowl of warm water and some cotton wool and carefully wash the blood and grime from Hermione's cheek. He noticed the brunette looking up at Ginny, straight into her eyes, giving a warm smile, holding her gaze a bit longer than was normally comfortable and then she looked a little shy. _Shy, _thought Harry, _why is she looking shy? Or staring at Ginny like that, anyway?_ He continued to watch the two witches, and found it slightly strange to see Ginny stroking back loose strands of hair away from Hermione's face, all with Hermione looking back up at her. _No, that's still ridiculous, _he thought, _they're just close friends, who have been through a lot together. _

It was then that Ginny hugged Hermione again, with both of them smiling broadly and he could see Hermione looking close to tears. _No, it's friends, _thought Harry, _besides, Hermione's with Ron. They finally kissed after all these years and...and..._

"Ron?" Harry said, feeling as though he needed confirmation, and again feeling like he knew the answer, if only he could access it. "What's Ginny's patronus?"

"Can't you remember?"

"I just want to make sure."

"It's a horse," replied Ron. "Hell, her patronus is very popular these days, everyone seems to want it!"

"What do you mean?" asked Harry.

"Hermione and me were making our way back here when we came upon a dementor, creepy gits. Both of us used our patronuses," Ron explained. "Except Hermione's looked different. I wasn't sure what I'd seen. Anyway, we faced another dementor, or the same one come back for more and we used our patronuses again. This time I knew Hermione's was a horse, almost identical to Ginny's. Weird that!"

"What?" said Harry, stunned. "Did you ask her about it?"

"Yeah, but she didn't even see what she'd cast and didn't know what it was. I didn't tell her it was a horse...I doubt she would have believed me anyway. She said it was probably because she was tired, that's what I thought too."

_Hermione's patronus has changed to Ginny's horse? _Harry thought. _What the hell is going on? It can't be...can it?_

"You all right, mate?" asked Ron, aware that Harry was lost in deep, serious thought.

"Yeah...sort of...don't know."

"Er..you _are_ all right? Or you _aren't_ all right?"

"Luna and I were fighting a Death Eater," Harry told Ron. "After we defeated the bastard we were talking and nearly didn't see a dementor coming for us. But we didn't have to worry because a patronus had been cast and chased the thing away for us. I thought it was Hermione, but when I looked back up the corridor, only Ginny stood there."

"Why did you think Hermione was there? We got turfed off the collapsing stairs and didn't get anywhere near to you?"

"I thought it was Hermione, because her otter was the patronus that helped us," said Harry.

"I don't understand," said Ron.

"Ginny cast her patronus, but it was Hermione's otter that came from her wand, not her horse."

"Oh," said Ron. "Why did they swap patronuses? Did they somehow swap wands by mistake?"

"It doesn't matter which wand you use, your patronus stays the same."

"Did they swap to confuse people?" suggested Ron. "Or...OR maybe they're not them?"

"Um...how do you mean? They're not Death Eaters in disguise?" stated Harry.

"What if Hermione is Ginny and Ginny is Hermione? They polyjuiced themselves, all to do with this grand plan...something to do with Dumbledore, which is as much as I know," said Ron. "Anyway, it would explain why Ginny was so confident to step in front of Hermione and face Bellatrix."

Harry considered it. It actually sounded plausible, and for a moment it felt more likely than the idea of Ginny and Hermione being involved with each other, romantically. "No," he finally said. "I don't see why that would be an advantage. They tried to stay together in the Hall and when you were looking for me. If they changed bodies, it would only be useful if they split up; Ginny would be less suspected than Hermione. BUT, they didn't have any plans to split up."

"So why did they swap patronuses?" asked a confused Ron.

"I don't think you _can_ swap, exactly," said Harry in a quiet voice.

"Well those two obviously have. Although, Hermione genuinely didn't seem to know she hadn't cast an otter," said Ron, deep in thought.

Harry was deep in thought again too. _I would walk in front of Ginny to face Bellatrix ,if I thought she was going to be hurt. Not just because it's the right thing to do, but because I love her. If I cleaned a wound on Ginny's face, I'd be as gentle as I could, because I'd hate to see her feel any pain. I wouldn't want Ron to feel pain, but I wouldn't stroke his cheek! OR make him shy, or have him stare into my eyes! I can't see any other reason...it's love. How did this happen? WHEN did this happen? What will Ron think? But...it's like I already know . I know that Hermione and Ginny are in love. How did I know that?_

"There _is_ one reason why a patronus might change, and beyond the witch or wizard's control," said Harry, after a long pause, still almost thinking outloud rather than being one hundred percent in a conversation.

"Are you an expert on patronuses now?"

"Not an expert, no," said Harry. "But I've learned a lot about them lately." He stopped, thinking carefully about it.

"So what's this 'reason'?" asked Ron.

"Do you remember that deer patronus that led me to the Sword?"

"Yeah, what about it?"

"It was Snape's," said Harry.

"Snape?"

"Except that wasn't his original patronus."

"What was it before?" asked Ron.

"No idea, but it changed to a doe."

"A doe...you're sure? Oh yeah, no antlers."

"Anyway, it was a doe because it was the same as my Mum's," said Harry.

"Why would...,"

Harry cut off Ron's questions and told him all about Snape's memories from the pensieve and the truth about Snape's feelings towards both his mother and for him. Ron spat out several 'bloody hell's' in response.

"So why did he change it to a doe? Did Snape think it would please or impress your mum?"

"No, _he_ didn't change it. His patronus changed, beyond his control. He was always in love with my Mum, right up until his own death here; that's why it was a doe. It was because of love. The same reason Tonks' patronus looked decidedly werewolfish when she was chasing after Lupin and he was trying to push her away," Harry explained.

"Then...what are you saying?" inquired a very confused Ron. _Is he insinuating...? No, that's absurd!_

"I'm saying - and I don't know how, why, where or when - and I'm thinking, Hermione and Ginny's patronuses changed because..." Harry swallowed, nearly unable to voice what he suspected, because it made it real, despite how accommodating his mind had been. His mind felt tired and a little cloudy, and he felt he was saying the things he was, to convince himself, rather than realizing it was actually Ron he was voicing these theories to. "Because, I think they're involved with each other, romantically."

Ron snorted with laughter. "Don't be an idiot! Or is this some sort of post-death-post-resurrected humour?"

"I'm serious," said Harry.

"How?" said a bewildered Ron. "Hermione was very much attached to my lips, more than once, in the last few hours. She and Ginny both left the Great Hall for half an hour, I hardly think they fell in love in the bog?"

Harry felt exasperated and frustrated. "I'm not saying I know how it happened or when. But if you watch them, you'll see it."

Ron looked over to his family and saw Hermione and Ginny talking to Bill and Fleur. _See it? What am I supposed to be seeing? They're standing and looking ordinary, talking to my brother. _He lowered his eyes from their faces. Ginny had her arm linked through Hermione's, as they stood side by side. _Nothing odd about that! _thought Ron. With their arms entwined they held hands too. _Girls hold hands with their friends all the time. Parvati and Lavender were always doing that. _Every so often Ginny's thumb would stroke Hermione's hand, and both would give little squeezes to the other's hand too. _Harry's seeing what he wants to see! _thought Ron.

It was then that Bill said something which made the three women laugh, and Ginny looked at Hermione and their eyes locked briefly, simply radiating warmth to each other, and Ron saw it. _That's the way Hermione looked...at me...after we kissed. She's looking at Ginny like that? It can't be? How can she look like that at my sister? They've been acting a little oddly since they came back from the Trophy Room with Charlie...but why? How? I don't understand._

"I saw that too," said Harry in a quiet dreamy voice, after looking over to Bill, Fleur, Hermione and Ginny.

"How can you be so bloody calm about it?" asked Ron.

"Hmm? Oh, I don't know where I stand with Ginny, anyway," admitted a sad Harry. "I kept pushing her away and breaking up with her. I'm not sure I have any right or claim to her, at this moment in time."

"But you love her?" asked an incredulous Ron.

"Yes, I do. I always have."

"So why aren't you confronting her and winning her back from whatever weird teenage girlie thing she's feeling for Hermione?"

"I don't know. Maybe the price for coming back is to let her go and be happy with whomsoever she chooses. Maybe she'll come back to me, maybe she won't. I think I have to leave her alone to decide for herself. I have this overwhelming feeling I've caused her so much pain and although I know she cares for me and even loves me, to an extent, I'm not sure I'm the one who can heal her."

"You kill bloody Voldemort, but you haven't got the guts to fight for the one you love?" Ron stated bluntly.

"It hurts, it really does," said Harry, in a soft voice. "But it's peculiar, I feel like I already knew about her and Hermione. It doesn't feel as shocking as it should. It doesn't stop it hurting, thinking of Ginny wanting someone other than me, but because I do love her, I have to let her go."

"I don't bloody believe you, mate," Ron said in amazement. "She was sobbing over your body a few hours ago!"

"Was she?" asked Harry, interested. _She did and does love me, but I think I know I can't give her what she needs, what she deserves._

"And yet you accept she's moved on to Hermione? In mere hours?"

"I can't explain it," said Harry. "It's like I just know. It might be days or weeks before we find out more, but I'm not going to push the issue, they'll tell us when they're ready."

"Tell us when they're ready?" Ron scoffed. "Hermione is going to bloody tell me now!"

Ron stood up and marched over to where Hermione and Ginny were standing, still talking to Bill and Fleur. Ron got hold of Hermione's free hand. "I want a word with you," he said, pulling on the hand so she'd have to follow.

Harry didn't seem to take much notice that Ron had stormed off, he was deep in thought and felt overwhelmingly tired and a little confused. He wasn't sure what were thoughts and what were things he'd actually said. For the moment, he was remembering the strange empty place he'd been to after Voldemort had killed him, and was trying to make some sense of it.

Hermione looked a little startled at Ron's tone, gave a confused look to Ginny but walked off with Ron to wherever he wanted to talk, she was being virtually hauled away with him anyway. Ginny wasn't at all happy with her brother, for dragging Hermione away, and she didn't like not knowing what was going on, especially as her brother seemed a bit pissed off.

"Where are we going?" asked Hermione, as Ron led them out of the Great Hall.

"Somewhere we can talk, where it's just you and me," he answered.

They walked up one flight of stairs and through the First Floor Corridor, and Ron looked into the first room they came to; it was a classroom and seeing it was empty, Ron almost yanked on Hermione's hand as he led them into the room.

Hermione pulled her hand free. "Ron, what is so urgent that you felt you had to physically drag me here? What couldn't you talk to me about in a quiet corner of the Great Hall?"

"A lot of things," he said. "And I want some answers."

Studying Ron's face, Hermione could see a mixture of emotions; he looked angry and scared and confused too. _Will I have to tell him about the Time-Turner, now? I'm too tired for this. _"Answers to what?"

Ron paused a moment, thinking. _There's so much I want to know...mostly about Ginny, but, for some reason I can't just blurt it out. If I ask and get the answer Harry seems to think is definite, then I won't know how to deal with it._

"Are you going to ask me something, or are we going to just stare at one another?" asked Hermione.

"All right," said Ron. "How is it, you go off for half an hour and come back, from a different door, with Charlie, and know how to bring Harry back? How is it, my sister had that sodding Wand? How is it, she had that flashy necklace and that dagger? And don't you dare tell me to ask her, I'm asking _you_?"

"It's a very long story," said Hermione.

"I'm not going anywhere, there's plenty of time now. I've been fobbed off with the 'long story' answer too much in the last few hours."

"Time," sighed Hermione tiredly, as she wondered how to even begin to tell Ron about the plan that she and Ginny had carried out. "It's all about time."


	62. Knock Backs

**A/N: Unfortunately I have a few issues to address here:**

**Firstly, apologies to any 'genuine' guest reviewers not seeing their reviews listed. I have had some very weird and almost psycho reviews lately(a couple nothing to do with the story at all!). So to save myself a lot of time and a lot of crap, I won't be 'Allowing' anonymous reviews anymore. I'll be deleting all of them regardless of content. I won't even be reading them, just clicking the delete button. **

**I think FFN not allowing authors to automatically block anonymous reviews anymore was a bad move, because it gives the internet 'troll' more rein to cause trouble, and with no way to report the person abusing the system either. It's almost funny what some people feel they can say to you in anonymous review format. They'd never have the guts to say these things to their victim's face. Sad, sad, people. **

**Another guest reviewer requested that I didn't write this chapter as a summary of events. Well, as people are supposed to be reacting to things I find that a bit hard not to mention certain things? I won't be repeating every little detail, but an 'aftermath' is exactly that...a time to reassess what has changed and why, which means going through things. Mention of something in the past is often a catalyst for provoking a situation or healing one, woven in with current and future events, which is how I've written this chapter. It's impossible not to refer to some of the events that have happened, or it would be mystifying as to what characters are actually reacting to. :D And ...er...also, why did I write this entire story if it was only to ignore what had gone before? If you don't like that and think the content is repetitive, then it's simple, don't read it. :) **

**Sorry to write all of that, but I needed to state those points.**

**Back to business...**

62: Knock Backs

"Time is at the very root of everything that's happened since I left the Great Hall," said Hermione, as she sat on the edge of a desk in the room. "To you and to everyone else at Hogwarts, Ginny and I were gone for around half an hour, but in reality we've been away nearly three weeks."

"Three weeks?" Ron replied, not expecting that information at all. "That's mad, and impossible!"

"Not with the Time-Turner it's not."

"Oh. That bloody thing again?"

Hermione went on to tell Ron about McGonagall and Flitwick's plan and how it was actually all devised by Dumbledore, from a couple of weeks before he died.

"You saw Dumbledore, again?" Ron asked, slightly incredulous.

"We saw three versions of him, to be accurate."

"Three?"

"One in 1943, 1945 and then 1997," said Hermione. "A lot of the time we stayed at his house in Godric's Hollow. We had to find Volde...Vold...sorry, we've been so used to not saying his name for safety, that it feels strange to say it now." Hermione shook her head. "We had to find Voldemort's uncle, Morfin Gaunt...you remember the name from one of the memories Harry told us about?"

"You had to find that mad old codger? That crazy bloke who only spoke parseltongue?"

"Yeah. The ring he wore contained the real Resurrection Stone Hallow, and we had to swap it with a fake, because it had been damaged when Voldemort made it into a horcrux, and again when Dumbledore destroyed it."

"Why did you need it undamaged?"

Hermione told Ron about the Stone, and how it should have played a major part in allowing Harry to return from his death. When Ron asked how they managed all this, she told him the basics of being WAAFs, and how they switched the Ring. She then explained the Hufflepuff Cup and how they had gone to Borgin & Burkes to get Hepzibah's address and finally met the woman to swap the Cup. Ron uttered several 'bloody hells' and a few 'shit' reactions.

"The Borgin & Burkes part could have gone badly wrong when we came face to face with Slughorn and Riddle."

"You what?"

"Thankfully they didn't see our true faces, but it was a bit of a shock."

"A shock? Shit, that could have been fatal!" said Ron, completely astounded by everything he was hearing.

"I know, I know," said Hermione. "But we got through it, and made sure nothing in our future was put in danger." She then told him about the necklace Ginny was wearing and about its history. "Whether all the provenance for it is genuine or not, we'll never truly know, but it certainly saved her life."

"So what about the Wand? How did Ginny get that?" Ron asked, currently distracted by what Hermione was telling him, rather than thinking about what else was going on between her and his sister.

"I was getting to that part," said Hermione. "We had to see Dumbledore in 1997, and he got Ginny to disarm him, so she could be the true owner of it, and Harry could take it from her. Dumbledore disguised his own ordinary wand to look like the Elder Wand, which was what Voldemort was using."

"The cunning old geezer!" said Ron, with a grin. "I always thought he was slightly tapped, but maybe madness and genius _do_ go together?"

"Yes, it seems so," said Hermione, almost feeling relaxed now.

"So Dumbledore told you how to bring back Harry?" inquired Ron, and when Hermione nodded he asked, "You knew from the start everything you had to do?"

"No. We didn't know anything much until the Dumbledore in 1997. We were a bit miffed about it all, but we trusted him and that trust paid off. We thought at various times, that had we known what rested on our success or failure, it would have been much harder to face."

Ron was going through all he'd been told and then another troubling thought came to him. "Just a moment," he said. "When did McGonagall or Flitwick get time to ask you to go on this...this trip?"

Hermione swallowed, suddenly feeling on edge again. "Well...it...it was when I went down to the Trophy Room with them. When I gave them our report about the corridor we'd been fighting in."

"Oh," replied Ron, then he thought about it more. "They asked you _then_? You didn't tell me about it?"

"No. Although they hadn't at that point told me anything about what it might involve. They only said, when it reached a certain point they'd let me know."

"_Why_ didn't you tell me about it?"

"I don't really know," said Hermione. _I _do _know; because subconsciously I knew I didn't think I could work with you on something as big as that plan sounded. I knew deep down I couldn't be with you, _she thought, uncomfortably.

"And how is it you took my bloody sister with you, when you told me nothing? I thought we were supposed to be together?" said Ron, colour starting to reach his cheeks from frustration and mild anger.

"Ginny sort of followed me to the Headmaster's Office," Hermione said. "She overheard some of the conversation and then asked if she could go with me."

"And you and McGonagall said 'yes'? Just like that?"

"No. We both said 'no'. But things got a little frantic and then McGonagall got injured and Ginny was being stubborn...you know how she gets, so I thought I could do with some company and help, and she ended up going to 1943 with me. As it turns out Dumbledore expected me to have a Weasley with me," said Hermione with a smile.

"It should have been me! I bet Dumbledore meant it to be me," said Ron. "Why didn't you tell me, Hermione? Why?"

"I don't know," Hermione lied again. "But Ginny was fantastic, she really is a very talented witch and there's some things she endured which I'm not sure I would have coped with."

Ron narrowed his eyes. He'd been watching Hermione as she spoke and although he thought he might be over sensitive at this moment, he definitely saw that Hermione changed when she spoke about Ginny. Her facial expressions softened and it was almost like she glowed.

"I'm _sure_ you helped each other," said Ron, not asking a question.

Hermione detected a strange tone from Ron, and thought he was being grumpy about being left behind. "Yes, we relied on each other a lot." She thought about her injuries and she hadn't intended telling Ron, but changed her mind now. "I...after switching the Ring, we had a bit of trouble."

"Trouble?"

"Yes," said Hermione, as she then told Ron about her duel with Massey and how she and Ginny were separated, but his sister had found her, helped them escape and had cared for her back at Godric's Hollow. "I'm not sure where I'd be without Ginny's help. That girl's got backbone!"

"Really?" said Ron. He'd felt himself gradually tense up with every mention of how wonderful his sister had been. He was like a spring in a clock, being tightened and tightened with each turn. "She sounds like quite the hero, is that why you've started using her patronus?"

"I...what?"

"Your patronus," said Ron sternly. "Twice tonight your patronus was Ginny's horse."

"Was it?" asked a truly surprised Hermione. _Why did I cast her horse? And why did she cast my otter? What's going on here?_

"Yes it was. And Harry tells me Ginny has started casting your otter. Did you swap?" asked Ron, hoping that Hermione would know the reason and that _her_ reason would be different to Harry's. Even now he still trusted Hermione's knowledge more than Harry's.

"No, we didn't swap," said a very unsure Hermione. "I don't think you _can_ swap a patronus. Neither of us knew we'd cast the other's patronus, it just happened. Maybe it's because we'd used the Time-Turner and it affected our charms and spell casting?"

"Or maybe it's because you're in love with each other?" said Ron, not laughing or joking.

_Shit! _thought Hermione, feeling a cold sensation rise up her body and settle in her chest and throat. _I'm not ready to tell anyone, least of all Ron, and how did he come up with that theory?_ She started to laugh to cover any strange signals she might have been showing. "Merlin's pants! What a ridiculous notion!" she laughed again. "Ginny and me? Don't be daft!"

"Daft? Yeah, that's me. Stupid, daft, idiotic," said Ron, not smiling at all. "It's a good thing Harry isn't as well."

"What are you talking about now?" asked Hermione, her insides feeling more nervous by the minute.

"He knows a bit about patronuses," Ron said, looking at Hermione, gauging how she reacted as he spoke. "He was telling me that the deer patronus that led us to the Sword of Gryffindor was Snape's."

"Snape?" Hermione almost squeaked. "Although, I suppose I shouldn't be surprised really."

"No?" said Ron. "Well Harry was telling me that Snape's patronus wasn't originally a doe. Harry's mum's patronus was a doe. Snape didn't consciously change his, it happened because he'd always been in love with Lily. Even after her death, he was still in love with her."

Hermione couldn't answer with anything other than, "Oh?" _Merlin's balls! _she thought. _Our patronuses changed because we're in love and although it's not unrequited, we were under stress and apart, worried about the other, when we each cast our patronus. Shit! Shit! Shit!_

"Harry said the same thing happened to Tonks, when she was pining over Lupin. Hers changed to a werewolf-looking thing. Isn't that interesting?"

"It is," said Hermione, trying to give nothing away about what she was feeling inside. "It's fascinating."

"So I ask again, are you and Ginny in love?"

The nervous and scared part of Hermione reacted by making her snort with laughter; she almost felt hysterical in truth, not knowing what to say or what to do.

Ron walked over to her and grabbed her shoulders, holding them firmly in his hands, making her look him in the eyes. "Tell me it isn't true? Tell me you're not involved? Look me in the eye and deny it!"

"Ron, let go of me," said Hermione, standing up and trying to wriggle out from his grip and trying to give herself some time to think, but his grip was firm. "Don't be ridiculous!"

"Ridiculous? Harry can see it, he claims he already knew, or some such bollocks. Maybe dying and coming back has crushed the fight from him, because he's just accepted it. But I saw it too. I saw how you look at Ginny, how she looks at you! You're involved, aren't you? Say it, just say it!"

"If I say 'no' you won't believe me, and if I say 'yes' you won't believe it either," said Hermione, hoping that words and her brain could deflect things a little.

However, Ron's anger and fear were making him see things clearer than normal. "Don't play games with me, Hermione. Are you and Ginny in love with each other?" His grip became stronger on her shoulders.

"Ron, you're hurting me, let go!" she said, tears burning in her eyes, knowing she couldn't avoid the inevitable.

"I want an answer, Hermione. I deserve to know!"

Hermione could feel a tear roll down her cheek, and her vision blurred slightly with the tears that were, as yet, unshed. "Yes," she almost whispered. "Yes."

"NO!" said Ron, "No! Why? WHY?" He almost shook Hermione, tears building in his own eyes.

"It just happened," said Hermione. "We didn't plan it, we...it just..."

"My sister! My bloody sister! I can't believe this?"

"Ron, I never wanted to hurt you," Hermione said, looking up into his face. "It...we...nothing I say will make it right. I'm truly sorry."

"Sorry? SORRY?" Ron looked into her face. _She's in love with Ginny, my sister, _he thought, _how can that be?_ "How could you? After everything we've been through? What with Fred, don't you think I've had enough...why now? Why are you doing this to me, now?"

"I...I..." Hermione couldn't think of anything to say.

"I love you, Hermione. YOU! It's always been you! I know you love me, I know you do," he said, almost shaking with emotion now, and his voice tinged with a tone of begging. "You're confused, you don't know what you want. You'll see I'm the one meant to be with you." Ron looked into Hermione's tear-streaked face, and leaned in to kiss her. As his lips made the lightest of contact, Hermione flinched and tried to push him away.

"RON! No!" she said, trying to turn her head away from him.

"You love me, don't you? I know you do," Ron said again.

The truth was, Hermione did love him, but not at all in the way he wanted anymore. Still pushing him back she told him, "I love you Ron, but I'm _in _love with Ginny." She shed more tears as she watched the hope in his face drop, to be replaced by despair and anger.

"What is it about her? Tell me that! What the hell can she give you, that I can't?"

"It's not about that...we're in love with each other, that's all there is to it," said Hermione, almost in a whisper. "There's...there's things we've been through and it brought us together...it...it just happened, it surprised both of us."

"When were you going to tell me?"

"Soon."

"No you weren't! You were going to carry on behind my back. Laugh at me for being so stupid that I couldn't see it. Weren't you?"

"No, that's not true!" said Hermione. "It's hard...it's going to be difficult for us. There's so many...things. It takes time to adjust."

"Time? Time to adjust?" Ron almost spat, his face grimacing. "You were away for around three weeks, but you obviously adjusted well to falling for Ginny? I can't believe this is happening."

"Ron..I'm..,"

"Sorry? Yeah, I bet you are." Ron looked at Hermione, and how he held her shoulders, and looking at her, he felt a sensation in the pit of his stomach, he felt pain and nausea. "I can't...I can't..,"

"What?"

Nearly snarling, Ron said, "I can't bear to look at you! You...you..." He didn't say what he thought she was, as he had a feeling like acid running through his veins and bile rising to his throat. He roughly shoved Hermione away from him and ran out of the room, feeling as though he wanted to vomit up his heart as well as his stomach contents.

Ron had left in such swift haste he didn't see that in shoving Hermione away from him he'd almost thrown her backwards. The anger and adrenalin in him making his actions stronger than they would have been normally. Hermione fell back and hit her head on the corner of the desk, as she tried to avoid falling to the ground. It knocked her out cold and she slumped to the ground, lumping her head again on the stone floor.

XXXXXXXXXX

In the Great Hall, Ginny moved herself so she was able to see everyone entering or leaving the room. She was still standing with her brother Bill and her sister-in-law Fleur, but her mind was distracted as she wanted to know what Ron and Hermione had been talking about. A tiny part of her worried whether Hermione seeing Ron again might change her feelings. _She wouldn't do that to me, _she thought, _I know no one can know for sure, but I don't think she'd go off with Ron and leave me, in any sense of the phrase. _After a while Bill and Fleur went to sit down at one of the tables, and most of her family were sitting there too, so she joined them, but made sure she could see the doorway into the Hall.

"So Ginny," said her brother Charlie, sitting opposite her. "Why was Dumbledore yelling at me? I know you brought back Harry and all that, but there must have been more to it? For a start, what the bloody hell were you doing in the Headmaster's Office anyway? You were supposed to stay in here!"

Ginny started to tell Charlie about where she had been, in the most fundamental way she could, not wanting to give too many details yet, and it wasn't long before all of her family began listening intently to her, including Harry, who was sitting next to George now. She kept eyeing her mother and father, and when they looked about to protest, she talked faster and gave them no opening to view their disapproval. None of the Weasleys could completely take in all the information, and they were all shocked to the core to learn about the tasks and the close experience with Tom Riddle; Ginny had decided to tell them that much and briefly mentioned the items they'd bought at Borgin & Burkes, to cover the mystery of her necklace.

"If it'd been me, I'd have killed the bastard there and then," said George.

"Oh we wanted to, believe me. Well, either that or run away very fast!" said Ginny. "But we couldn't. In a way the rules of our being there were simple. We couldn't change anything big, so killing or injuring someone when they were never meant to be killed or injured at that moment, was off limits to us." _Massey was an exception, _she thought, _but that was mostly his own fault!_

"Did you know that necklace would give you protection?" asked an interested Harry.

"Not completely," replied Ginny, feeling a little uncomfortable talking to Harry, because he was looking at her very earnestly. She also realized that he'd probably spoken to Ron to get the information on the necklace and to know she was wearing it. "Dumbledore believed it might protect a witch or wizard from very minor spells or curses, but certainly not the Killing Curse. Whether it really belonged to this Boudica woman or Anne Boleyn, I'm not sure."

"Anne Boleyn, though?" said Bill. "How cool would that be, if it were true?" Fleur looked at her husband with an incredulous expression. "Well, it _would_ be," he said, trying to convince her about why he sounded so enthusiastic.

"Yeah," said Charlie. "I wonder if we could invoke her headless ghost from it with a bit of provocation?"

"Maybe we should ask Nearly Headless Nick about it?" suggested George.

"Do you boys ever grow up?" asked Mrs. Weasley. "And...and after what we've...," she couldn't finish her sentence and sniffled into a tissue; Mr. Weasley had an arm around her.

George's smile suddenly dropped and he lowered his head, as did Bill. "Sorry, Mum," said her eldest son. She just nodded to him. None of them could forget their brother Fred, but their slightly strange sense of humour was always nearby. George considered that even Fred would have found Anne Boleyn and the necklace theory interesting and funny, whatever circumstances they found themselves in.

"It sounded like there really needed to be two people to make the plan work anyway?" asked Harry.

"Dumbledore was expecting a Weasley with Hermione, that's for sure, but he didn't know which one," said Ginny. "A male Weasley might have made the sleeping arrangements more difficult," she said, then realized she'd said it out loud.

Harry had noticed a faint blush reach Ginny's cheeks. He knew her face and her facial expressions well, and he knew she was thinking of other things involving sleeping. Even if it was a platonic sharing of a bed with Hermione, initially, he knew it became more than that. The more times he'd had the thoughts in his head about the two of them, the more he felt it was old news to him. _Maybe dying and coming back to life has given me super intuitive talents? _thought Harry. _Which could be very useful as well as very awkward._

"Other than Dumbledore, Riddle and Slughorn, did you see anyone else you knew? Any of the family?" asked Bill.

"No," said Ginny, thinking. "We knew that could be a problem if we did, so we didn't search for anyone, as tempting as it was when we knew where we were."

"Did you know what was going on here?" asked Mrs. Weasley.

"No. We thought about it a lot, though," replied Ginny. "We wondered what happened in the days since we'd left, knowing that we'd never actually know what happened, because we'd be returning to the time just after we left, so that was a future that would never happen in the way it had since we left, if you get my meaning?"

"Not really," said George. "How you kept sane, trying to think all that through I'll never know?"

"The worst thing were the nightmares," said Ginny, not wanting to go into details but letting them know about their experiences. "Hermione and I started getting bad nightmares right from the first night at Godric's Hollow. The kind which were so real and so strong...urgh," Ginny shivered. "We thought it was due to a combination of the Battle here, our travel over time and the stress there too. Dumbledore agreed with us on that."

"What were they about, these nightmares?" asked Mrs. Weasley.

"I don't want to go into them too much," sighed Ginny. "Because I don't want to relive them. I will say I saw several versions of what happened here. Voldemort killing everyone, or me killing Voldemort, as unlikely as that sounds. Some were so vivid that even when I woke up, it took a while to know it wasn't real."

Ginny looked to the doorway again and still saw no sign of Hermione, or Ron for that matter. Not really wanting to talk about her dreams further, she stood up and walked along to the end of the table, to where a large jug of pumpkin juice stood, and poured herself a glass of it.

"Did I ever appear in your dreams?"

Ginny turned to see Harry next to her. "Yes, a lot," she said.

Harry poured himself a glass of juice and walked to some chairs away from the table, he nodded his head to Ginny, suggesting she come and sit with him. She didn't entirely want to be alone and talking with Harry, and yet at the same time she did, for different reasons.

"What did I do in your dreams?" Harry asked.

"I don't want to talk about it much," sighed Ginny.

Harry thought she wasn't going to say anything more and was about to think of something else to talk about when she spoke.

"You were dead a lot."

"On the ground? In the background?" asked Harry.

"No, walking and talking, but dead."

"I don't quite unders...,"

"Rotting flesh, that kind of thing," said Ginny, taking a sip of juice.

"Oh. That must have been...,"

"Awful? Yeah it was, but you did keep telling me odd things and asking me strange questions."

"I did?" asked Harry. "What kind of questions?"

"Half the time you were almost cryptic, but you sometimes seemed to have a message, pointing towards something Hermione and I had to to do. Or you were telling me off about something. It was very unsettling, because just as I wondered about things, you'd vanish."

"Sorry."

"They were my nightmares, you couldn't help those!" laughed Ginny.

"Where did they take place? These nightmares?" Harry inquired.

"Everywhere. The Burrow, Gryffindor Common Room, several places in Hogwarts in fact. Hogwarts was always slightly wrong, corridors in wrong places and doors too."

Harry experienced an odd prickly sensation, as if someone was tickling his brain and suddenly had a flash of a vision in his mind, and he didn't know why he said what he said next. "Doors. You chose the door on the left."

"What?" said Ginny, feeling as though ice had been put down the back of her shirt.

"Hmm?" asked Harry.

"What you just said?"

"What did I say?"

"About a door?"

"Wh...oh," Harry realized, and had another vision of two doors. "Why did I say something about a door? Does that mean anything to you?"

"You could say that!" said Ginny, wishing she had something stronger than pumpkin juice in her glass. "I had a dream where you asked me to choose between two doors. I chose the left hand one."

"I see..I...," Harry saw all of it so clearly now. He was sitting on a bench with Ginny and almost willing her to choose the door on the right, because he would be behind that one, offering her love and contentment, a house with kids and so much more. The left door held a tougher choice, possible dangers, a fight, a path of struggles, but if it was fought for, it would offer immense happiness. When Ginny chose the left door, he was so disappointed, and as he saw her walk towards it, he'd followed her, not knowing himself what the door held. He had watched her walk through and continued to peep through the door. It was then he saw Hermione, and how she greeted Ginny and that the redhead enjoyed the kiss she shared with her friend.

"Are you all right, Harry? You look a bit...,"

"You chose Hermione." Suddenly everything was clear to Harry, about how he knew what he knew. The answer to that was unsettling, but at least it made some sense to him.

"What!" Ginny felt her chest go tight, and a panic rise within her. "What!" She couldn't seem to say anything else.

"I know, Ginny," said Harry, calmly. "You and Hermione are in love with each other."

"No...no, whatever gave you that idea? Don't be silly!" said Ginny with a nervous laugh.

"You can't hide it from me, because I think I already knew," Harry spoke softly. "I think those dreams or nightmares you were having, might have contained a real part of me."

"Is that even possible?"

"After what's happened here, I think anything's possible," said Harry, smiling. "I have this horrible feeling I wasn't always nice, like I felt I was constantly trying to win you back, or depressed that I was dead and couldn't come back to you.

"Um...you were a bit grumpy, to put it mildly, a lot. Dumbledore seemed to think you were trapped somewhere after you died, and that you weren't meant to be there because you were meant to come back," said Ginny. "And you would have come back, had you not had a damaged Resurrection Stone and if you'd had the Elder Wand too."

"Maybe it caused parts of me...my soul, or whatever, to fragment off to other places," considered Harry. "A little like parts of me were trying to find a way out, but I kind of attached myself to you, wherever that happened to be."

Ginny thought on it for a moment. "Well, it sounds as plausible as any theory I've ever heard."

"So, are you and Hermione together?"

"Harry, I...I..."

"Ginny, I love you. I have for years, and will always love you, but," he paused and took a deep breath. "You have to follow what your _own_ heart says. You can't stay with someone because _they_ love you; you have to love them in the same way too."

"How can you be so calm about all this?"

"I think my brain has had the equivalent of a few days to get used to it," said Harry, with a sad smile. "I think most of your dreams where I appeared, was probably really me, so I saw what you were thinking...and...and doing."

"Err...doing?" asked Ginny, nervously.

Harry had a strange vision of walking into the Burrow and going to Ginny's room, only to find her half naked beneath a half-naked Hermione. And he saw a similar scene in the Girls Dormitories at Hogwarts. He couldn't help but chuckle, even though part of him felt very sad about it.

"Sorry, but I seem to be remembering some of _your_ dreams," said Harry. Ginny blushed, and wore a mortified expression. "I won't tell anyone. It's personal between you and me, and maybe Hermione, although I imagine she doesn't know some of the details."

"I told her about most of the nightmares and dreams. We talked to each other a lot, because most of the time we'd wake up in tears."

"I'm sorry if I caused some of that."

"I actually threw up after I first saw you dead and talking to me in a dream. That was a new experience." Ginny's smile dropped again. "Harry, I love you...,"

"There's a 'but' coming," said Harry.

"I'm _in_ love with Hermione," she almost whispered, her cheeks turning red again. "I'm so sorry. I don't want to hurt you, neither of us do. I never looked for it, I was prepared that I was coming back here to feel like a widow. Even if I am this young! It...just happened. We had no idea we were bringing you back to life. And we certainly had no idea we'd...we'd end up together."

Harry actually put an arm around Ginny. "I can't imagine what you've been through," he said quietly. "I won't deny it, it hurts, but I wouldn't be here, none of us would, if not for you and Hermione."

"What? So that gives us a qualification to be...be lesbos and everyone will accept it?"

"That's not what I'm saying. But you two have been through things none of us will ever truly know or understand. You've trusted each other completely, when you only had each other to rely on. Love born from that can't be broken into, and _shouldn't_ be broken into by anyone."

"So, you're happy to sit back and smile at us?" asked a slightly rattled Ginny.

"I wouldn't say 'happy', because of course, I'd prefer it if you were with me," said Harry, softly. "But I'm not going to cause a scene or beat my chest, because it won't change your mind. And because I do love you, I have to let you decide what you want to do, you've earned that much, and more."

Ginny found she had to wipe a stray tear away, unaware that it had rolled down her cheek. "I'm sorry, Harry. I wish it could be different. You've been through so much yourself..."

"Well, maybe I'll still find someone," said Harry. "I'm young!" he laughed. "Or maybe you'll get bored with Hermione and come and find me?"

Once more Ginny found herself rattled by the way Harry was taking the news, the manner of it all surprised her so much. "No one knows what the future might bring us," she said.

"True," said Harry, then he gave a deep sigh. "Which is all the more reason to grab happiness when you have the chance."

"Harry...um...you won't tell anyone else yet, will you?"

"No, of course not," he said. "It's no one else's business. I know you might have some difficulties from some quarters, but it's not my place to say anything. Although, you _will_ have to tell Ron, you know that?" He had a prickly feeling in his head again, but wasn't sure why.

"Yes, we will," said Ginny. She looked around the Hall again and still couldn't see her brother or Hermione. _They've been gone ages, _she thought.

"Where _is_ Ron, anyway?" asked Harry, almost reading Ginny's thoughts.

"He practically dragged Hermione off with him, because he wanted to talk to her."

"Oh." It then hit Harry what he'd been talking to Ron about before he stormed off in the direction of Hermione. "OH!" He still felt very sluggish in thoughts and it seemed he might be alive but not completely up to par.

"What do you mean, 'oh'?"

"I think he was going to confront Hermione about you two," said Harry, waiting for the eruption.

"How did he...? Unless you...?

"I'm sorry, Ginny, but I'm not thinking clearly yet. We were talking about patronuses and I was trying to work out why I felt like I knew about you and Hermione, and I think I might have said too much out loud, trying out my theory. I told him to wait and see and that you'd tell him when the time was right...if that's what was going on."

"Harry?" groaned Ginny. "You said you wouldn't tell anyone else?"

"I'm sorry. I'd forgotten I'd even had that conversation with Ron, until just now. I was still trying to work things out myself. Well, on the bright side, he'll hopefully find out sooner rather than later," offered Harry, sheepishly.


	63. Family and Balance

**A/N: This part of the story might seem a bit slow as I said before, but there's a lot of threads and personalities to involve and I didn't want to rush through it. If this section of chapters doesn't seem highly exciting, I can say that once you reach the end of the story in chapter 83, you'll see that they were all needed for the 'journey'. **

**That irritating word 'patience' has to be used again. I'm trying to keep to updating regularly, at least weekly, but that's working around real life and other stuff, so it might not be to exact days. This week, miraculously, I'm early with my update. :) **

**(A small note to guest reviewer Miss Granger. I actually did read your last review, when it was sent by email alert twice(I was obviously _meant _to read it :D ), so although it was deleted on FFN I got to read it. Many thanks for everything you wrote, hope you continue to enjoy the story.)**

63: Family and Balance

For a short while Ginny and Harry sat quietly, both deep in thought. Ginny worrying about how she was going to deal with Ron, and Harry still trying to get his mind to clear and catch up with the rest of him.

"Ginny?" called a voice.

Looking up and back at the table, Ginny saw that it was her mother calling to her, so she got up and walked back to where the family were still seated. "Yes, Mum?"

"Where's Ron?"

"I don't know."

"We haven't seen him for ages, nor Hermione?" said Mrs. Weasley.

"I think they went off somewhere to talk," Ginny reluctantly replied.

"Aw," her mother said, smiling. "Young love."

_Young love? _thought Ginny, _it had better not be! _Instead she was able to deflect her line of thinking a little. "Was there a reason you needed to see them?"

"Yes, dear," said Mrs. Weasley, looking close to tears suddenly. "They're...they're soon going to move those...the dead. We wanted you all to have another chance to see..." She couldn't continue, and Arthur Weasley wrapped an arm around her, fighting off tears himself.

"It will be a chance to see Fred. We should be able to see him again tomorrow, when we have the funeral, but your mother and I wanted to give you a chance to see him again now. If you want to?"

Ginny swallowed hard, her own eyes burning, trying to stay composed. "I'd...I'd like to, Dad," she said. "Do you want me to try and find Ron?" Her father nodded as he hugged her mother tightly.

Looking around the table at the rest of her family, Ginny couldn't see any of the light-hearted banter from a short time earlier. Fleur was resting her head on Bill's shoulder, Percy was studying his own fingernails, Charlie had briefly got up and walked over to have a word with the Professors, and George... _Poor George, _thought Ginny, _what on earth must he be feeling? It must be worse for him than any of us. _George was moving a half-full glass of pumpkin juice, making the contents spin and swirl and was staring at it intently.

"I'll go with you," said Harry, who was standing beside her.

"Okay," Ginny said to Harry. "We'll try to be back as soon as we find him," she told her parents. Walking side by side, Harry and Ginny left the Great Hall, a few people looked up and smiled at Harry as they passed.

"I haven't had a proper chance to say this," said Harry. "But I'm very sorry about Fred."

Ginny looked at Harry, as they slowed their pace. "Thank you. I've had a bit longer to deal with it than the rest of my family. I'm just worried about them; Mum and Dad, and George especially."

"One thing I noticed about your family, from the start, was how much you care about each other," said Harry. "Even behind all the pranks Fred and George played, your family has so much love. You _will _all get through this. It will take time, but you all have each other."

For a moment Ginny wondered if Harry was taking a subtle dig at her, for the fact he didn't have anyone and was alone, but when she looked at him as he spoke, she only saw sincerity and care. "I have no idea how they'll take it if they find out about Hermione and me," she said glumly.

"I can't help you there, but I think, eventually, it will work out...somehow," said Harry seriously, then decided he wanted to change the subject. "So, where do we begin to look for those two?"

"I don't know. When I looked as they left the Hall, I thought they turned left," said Ginny, as she turned herself left and looked at the Grand Staircase.

"We could try a floor at a time, or until the stairs run out, anyway."

They ascended a flight of stairs and another, to reach the First Floor; piles of rubble and patches of blood a ready reminder that the Battle had not been a dream. The only thing Ginny and Harry could hear were their own footsteps and a few distant voices from the floor below and outside.

Reaching the first classroom, Harry knocked on the door, not wanting to intrude on his best friends, in case Hermione had changed her mind about Ron. There was no answer, so he opened the door. "Looks empty," he said.

Ginny was right behind him, as they walked a pace into the classroom. "Let's move on to the next one, then."

They walked out of the room again, and as Ginny was closing the door she heard a sound, a little like a creak, which wasn't the door and sounded a bit like a rumbling stomach. "Harry, are you hungry?"

"No, why?"

"I can hear your stomach!"

"I thought that was you!" said Harry. "It wasn't me."

Ginny was about to protest her own stomach's innnocence when she heard it again. "There, that _was_ you!"

"I heard it too," said Harry. "It wasn't me, though." Both of them went quiet, listening, and then they heard the similar noise yet again, but it didn't sound like a grumbling stomach this time.

"What _is_ that?" asked Ginny.

"If I had to put my money on it, I'd say it sounds like a person, but where?"

"No one was in the classroom," said Ginny, standing back out in the corridor, looking left and right. "And no one is in the corridor."

"Perhaps someone hid in a storage cupboard?" suggested Harry. "Come on, we'd better take a look. Wand out, just in case it's a hungover Death Eater."

Harry led himself and Ginny back through the doorway and into the classroom, he had the Elder Wand in his hand, stretched out in front of him, Ginny was close behind. Both of them focused on the teacher's desk, not far from the door, before looking intently at the storage cupboard in an alcove to one side. Approaching the cupboard, quietly and carefully, Harry was about to pull the door of it open when they heard the strange little noise again, but from behind them.

Ginny spun around, wand held out, to be faced by rows of empty desks. She walked to the side of the teacher's desk and from that angle, as she scanned the desks and chairs, she saw someone on the floor. "Harry, there's someone..." She recognized who it was straight away and almost ran the few steps to the prone figure of Hermione on the floor.

"Who is it? Is it a Death Eater?" Harry asked, as he followed behind Ginny. He soon saw who it was, though. "Hermione? What's happened here?"

Kneeling beside Hermione, as the brunette was half on her side, half on her front, faintly stirring and letting out another little groan, Ginny laid her hand on Hermione's shoulder, and then touched her cheek and brushed back her bushy hair, which had fallen over most of her face. In doing so, she revealed a large red, angry-looking bruise on the side of her forehead. "I think she's had a bang to her head," said Ginny, as Harry knelt beside her.

"How?" asked Harry. "There's no sign of a duel in here; in fact this room looks like the most untouched place in Hogwarts. You don't just hit your head, do you? Unless...," Harry stopped himself from voicing his next thought. His tongue had got him into trouble too much already since he came back, and he didn't think it would help if he said a possibility might have been Ron lashing out. He couldn't really believe it of his friend, but he had to admit that love did strange things to people.

However, Ginny had latched onto the thought too. "Unless Ron had something to do with it? That's what you were going to say, isn't it?"

"He wouldn't, though," said Harry.

"Well, both you and I have just considered it, that makes it possible, doesn't it?"

"Look, we don't know what's happened, only Hermione can tell us that and right now we need to look after her."

Ginny felt into one of Hermione's pockets and brought out her beaded bag, opened it and retrieved the dittany bottle. She wasn't sure if it would make Hermione come round faster, but at least she could heal the bruising. Carefully, she placed two small droplets onto the bruised area of Hermione's head, the skin twitching as the bruise gradually receded and became hardly noticeable. At the same time Ginny saw a faint bruise to the side of Hermione's face, which she'd been lying on, and healed that too.

"Hermione," Ginny said softly, rubbing her hand against Hermione's cheek. "Are you going to wake up? Come on sleepy head." Hermione did seem to stir a bit more, but her eyes were still closed and she wasn't really with them yet.

"We need some cold water," said Harry.

"Why? You're not going to throw a bucket of it over her head, surely!"

"No, I was thinking of using a cloth, dip it in the cold water, wipe her face with it," said Harry, explaining that he had no intention of throwing water over his friend.

"Oh," said Ginny. "Yes, that does sound like a good idea. We have some mugs in here, but only flasks of tea," she said, as she rummaged in the bag.

"That will be fine," said Harry. "Remember, we can transfigure and make things if we have the tools nearby. There's water in tea!" With the flask nearby, Harry held a mug and used the _Aguamenti _spell, and watched as clear cold water filled the mug.

"I didn't think of that," said Ginny, feeling slow and tired. "I'm glad one of us is thinking fast!"

"I'm not thinking fast, believe me!" said Harry with half a smile.

Looking amongst their toiletries, Ginny found a cloth and dipped it in the water, and then pressed the cloth to Hermione's head and cheeks. "Wakey wakey Hermione," she said as she kept pressing the ice cold wet cloth to Hermione's face.

"W...where? W...what?" Hermione said, stirring and opening her eyelids a fraction. She saw Ginny leaning over her and then, oddly, Harry. "What the...?" Her whole body jerked as she opened her eyes fully and realized she was on the floor in a classroom, and Harry and Ginny appeared to be kneeling next to her. She tried to sit up and scrabbled around with her hands on the floor.

Ginny breathed a sigh of relief, to see Hermione come round. "Take it easy," she said, and then helped Hermione to sit up. The brunette seemed less anxious once she sat up, but immediately put her hand to her head as she felt it ache badly. "Headache?" Ginny asked.

"Yeah," replied Hermione, scrunching her eyes shut as she tried to make it go away. "The kind that feels like Buckbeak has been running around inside my skull."

"Harry, there's a headache potion in the bag," Ginny said. "And find a teaspoon too."

"_Everything's_ in this bloody bag," said Harry with a smile, remembering the times it was used on their travels. He used _Accio _and the potion bottle jumped up into his hand, and then repeated it for a spoon.

Ginny remembered from the time she had used the potion at The Leaky Cauldron, that a bad headache required two spoonfuls. She read the label just to make sure. "Two spoons of this should help," she said to Hermione, as she poured out a spoon measure and got her patient to swallow it.

"Urrrrgh!" Hermione grimaced. "You were right, it _does_ taste like rat piss!" Harry gave a little laugh, as did Ginny, as she made Hermione swallow a second spoonful.

"I'm afraid there's nowhere to sleep it off," said Ginny. "Besides which, I remember Mum saying something about staying awake if you have bangs to the head."

"Your Mum's right," said Hermione. "I'll be fine for now."

"What happened here?" Ginny asked, no longer able to contain her need for answers.

"Ron and..."

"_HE_ did this?" Ginny pounced on the sentence.

"Not exactly, he didn't mean to," said Hermione.

"He didn't _mean _to hit you?" Ginny shrieked.

"He _didn't_ hit me," said Hermione.

"What? But...?"

"Let her explain," said Harry quietly, as he touched Ginny's arm.

Hermione looked at Harry and saw him touch Ginny's arm, she looked at him again, and decided she was almost too tired to wonder about whether he really knew about herself and Ginny or not. "We talked, he got upset and ran out, but he kind of shoved me as he made his exit, I think I fell and hit my head on a desk," Hermione said. "At least, that's what I remember."

Ginny didn't know how to answer for the moment. She still wanted to be furious at Ron and have an excuse to pummel her brother, but she couldn't find a definite blame card she could lay on him. "Oh," she could only say.

"So, you told him the truth?" asked Harry. Hermione had been looking at Ginny but her head turned to stare at Harry, with a questioning expression.

"He knows," said Ginny.

"I know," said Harry. "It's a strange story, but I'm sure Ginny will tell you about it later."

"And you...you...?" Hermione tried to ask how on earth he could be at her side, next to Ginny, and not be as angry as Ron.

"I'm not jumping around with happiness," said Harry, knowing what was going through his friend's mind. "But to stand between you two, try to break you up, or stir up trouble and misery? I don't want to do that. I don't want to be the cause of anymore strife, nor lose two friends with it. And I'm not saying that to be gallant and a good bloke, I'm just bloody glad to even be breathing, and that's thanks to you two. I have my own demons I have to deal with and I'm sure there'll be many times I'll curse your names under my breath and wish things were different...but life isn't always how we want it to be, is it? Life isn't fair. As odd as it sounds, Snape taught me that. Anyway, enough about me."

Hermione was a bit stunned by what she'd heard from Harry; she didn't know what to say next or how to answer with anything that was worthy after that. "How did you know where to find me?" she asked instead.

"We didn't," said Ginny. "We looked in here and thought it was empty, until we heard a sound."

"Ginny thought it was my stomach, and I thought it was hers," said Harry with a grin. "Then we thought it might be a groaning Death Eater hiding in the cupboard, so we came back in here and then found you."

"Have I been gone long, then?" asked Hermione, her headache pounding a little less than before.

"Quite a while," said Ginny. "We came to look for you _and _Ron, at the request of my Mum and Dad. They...they want us all to have the chance to see Fred one more time before he's moved, which will be soon."

Hermione reached for Ginny's hand. "I'm sorry, I don't know where Ron went, he ran out of the door. I can't even tell you whether he went right or left, as I was having my argument with the desk by then."

"I know you were hit on the head," said Harry to Hermione, in an enthusiastic manner. "But haven't you forgotten something?"

"What?"

"The Marauder's Map."

"I don't have it," said Hermione.

"Me neither," said Ginny.

Harry put his hands in his pockets and found them empty apart from a sticky, half-melted sweet, his broken wand, his Invisibility Cloak and some bits of fluff.

"We didn't find it in your pockets," said Hermione.

"Pockets, pockets," said Harry, then he gave a smile. "You wouldn't!" He then slid a hand into his trousers, which made Hermione and Ginny give each other strange looks. "I put the Map down my boxers, before I went to the Forest. I didn't want the Map getting into anyone else's hands."

To the slightly troubled amazement of Ginny and Hermione, Harry's hand reappeared clutching the old parchment. He saw their almost horrifed expressions and quickly put a _Tergeo _spell on the Map. "It's clean. Happy?" he said, with a laugh.

"Why didn't you produce that, when we were looking for Ron and Hermione in the first place?" groaned Ginny.

"Oh," said Harry, wondering why he hadn't thought to use the Map before. "I only now thought about it. Sorry, my brain isn't quite functioning properly yet. Maybe I'm tired...nevermind. Anyway, we should hopefully be able to find Ron now."

They all looked at the Map, searching for a dot marked as 'Ron Weasley', and after a couple of minutes searching they found it, in Moaning Myrtle's bathroom.

"How did he get there? There's no stairs up to the Second Floor, let alone going beyond. Unless he went the long way round?" said Hermione. "Or unless Apparating and Disapparating are possible in the school now? Hmm..."

"We'd better make a start finding him and telling him about Fred," said Ginny.

"I'll go," said Harry.

"I thought you were coming with us anyway?" asked Ginny.

"No, I mean, I'll go alone," explained Harry. "You stay with Hermione and make your way back to the Great Hall. I just think it might be best if I talk to Ron alone."

Hermione nodded, she understood exactly what Harry was suggesting. "That sounds like a good idea," she said. "We'll see you later." Harry stood up and left the classroom.

"Mum and Dad really sent _me_ to find you and Ron, Harry tagged along," said Ginny.

"Yes, but I'm not sure either one of us is the right person to find Ron, at the moment," said Hermione. "It might aggravate things."

Ginny looked at Hermione, and understood exactly what she was saying and sighed, tiredly. "You're right. Anyway, are you up for trying to make our way back to the Hall?"

"I'll give it a go," said Hermione, making to stand up, with help from Ginny.

Once on her feet, Hermione blinked a few times and moved her head from side to side to clear her vision and regain her sense of balance. Her head still ached, but it was nowhere near as bad as before and was lessening with every minute. Ginny linked her arm through Hermione's and they walked slowly out of the classroom and along the corridor.

It took longer than it would normally, but the further they walked the better Hermione began to feel; several minutes later they entered the Great Hall. The redhead led Hermione to the table, where her family were, and sat themselves down.

"Are you feeling unwell, Hermione?" asked Mrs. Weasley, noticing how her daughter seemed to be nearly helping her friend to walk in and how pale Hermione looked.

"A bit of a headache," said Hermione, trying to deflect the situation. "Not helped by a bit of falling rubble hitting me." She and Ginny had stretched the truth in high pressure situations before, so the white lie sounded convincing.

"Do you need some headache potion or anything?"

"No, thanks. Ginny and I had some, so I'm sure the headache will go soon," replied Hermione.

Ginny had been watching and listening to the exchange closely, but what Hermione had said sounded plausible. _Is it good that we've become skilled at the 'white lie'? _she thought. _At least we're honest with each other or life would feel like one _big _lie. _Ginny was relieved that Hermione had answered her mother, because she wasn't completely sure she could fool her mother herself.

"Where's Ron? I thought he'd be with you?" asked Mrs. Weasley.

"We know where he is," said Ginny. "Harry's gone to fetch him, then they should be along shortly." _If Ron will leave Myrtle's bathroom, _she thought, not knowing what her brother was going to be like. "He went to the bathroom."

Arthur Weasley walked to the table, having been talking to some of the few genuine Ministry officials left. "We can see Fred, now," he said, solemnly.

"Let's hope Harry brings Ron, soon," said Mrs. Weasley, as she stood up and took her husband's hand.

Ginny inhaled and exhaled a few steady calming breaths, then stood up, expecting Hermione to stand up with her. The brunette remained seated. "Don't you feel well enough to go over to see him?"

"It's not that," said Hermione. "It's a private thing for your family. It should be only your family."

"I want you with me. You've always been like family to us, and especially to me, now," said Ginny in a soft voice. "If you feel able to, please?"

Hermione looked up and saw the nervousness and strain on Ginny's face. "All right. I'd like to see him too and...," she tailed off, feeling very sad.

All the Weasleys had gathered around the shrouded figure on the floor, which was Fred. Several of the dead had been moved already, to various places around the country, including the morgue at the Ministry; a couple of other families surrounded their own departed loved ones. The Weasley family were so focused on Fred, that for the moment, no one paid much attention to the other poor souls whom hadn't survived. Ginny and Hermione approached Fred, arms linked once more, and the redhead stood next to her father, Hermione on her other side.

The sheet had been turned back and they could see Fred's head and his hands folded across his chest. George was kneeling on the floor next to his twin brother, staring at the white face. Fred looked like he was sleeping, as all dead people did when they were laid out, except for the fact he was very pale and his lips were the wrong colour.

Molly Weasley was also kneeling beside her late son, tears flowing freely, as she placed a kiss on Fred's forehead. Bill had crouched down and placed a hand over one of his brother's cold ones, Fleur at his side had her hand on his shoulder. Charlie stood near his mum, staring at his late brother, his own face nearly as blank in expression as Fred's. Percy was next to Charlie, and he wiped a tear or two away angrily, shaking his head and muttering to himself. Arthur soon went to his wife's side and knelt beside her, putting an arm around her; he reached out with the back of his hand and gently touched Fred's cold cheek.

Although Ginny had had a couple of weeks longer than the rest of her family, to deal with Fred's loss, it still hit her like an arrow through the heart, to rest her eyes upon her dead brother again. It was real, not a dream gravestone, or a dream of him moving and coming back to life. Hermione held her hand and Ginny clung on tightly, as her tears dampened her cheeks.

Hermione could only stare at the cold face of Fred, feeling numb and cold herself. Seeing him again, so vividly, made her feel the shock once more. She still felt like an outsider and although she had tears herself, she concentrated on the fact that she was here for Ginny.

"What's _she _doing here?" said a loud male voice, a few minutes later. Several of the Weasleys, including Ginny, turned to the direction of the voice, to see Ron walking up to them with Harry.

"This is family business, she has no right to be here!" said Ron, pointing at Hermione.

"Ron!" scolded his upset mother, but she didn't get a chance to say anything more.

"He was _our_ brother, not yours!" he nearly shouted at Hermione.

Hermione was stunned and Ginny was fiercely gripping her hand, but she pulled away.

Ron was glaring angrily at Hermione, his eyes brimming with tears of anger and hurt. "I want you to go!" he said to Hermione.

"Okay, I'll leave," said Hermione quietly, casting her eyes down, unable to look at Ron.

"No, you stay here," said Ginny. "Just because he's raving like an idiot."

"I don't want to cause anymore trouble, it's best if I go," said Hermione in a whisper, all too aware that most of the Weasleys were watching the scene with confused looks. "I'll see you later."

"Where will you go?" Ginny asked.

"I'll see if the Owlery is still standing," said Hermione, as she walked away.

Ginny turned on her brother. "You git!"

"Me? I don't want to even look at you either!" said Ron. "But because you're my sister I'll have to suffer you."

"Bastard!"

"Ginny Weasley!" said her father. "You obviously have a disagreement between yourself and your brother, but this is not the place to be airing it. Please, have a little dignity, if not for your mother, then for Fred's sake."

Ron looked at his father, then down at Fred, and it was enough to free his unshed tears. Charlie went to him and put a supportive arm around him. Bill and Fleur kept looking at each other, almost silently conversing together, about what they thought was going on. George had looked round at the sound of raised voices, but his thoughts were elsewhere again. Percy was too numb to be interested in anything around him.

Harry had stayed back a little, but he walked forward to Mr. and Mrs. Weasley, and put a hand on Mrs. Weasley's shoulder. "I haven't had a proper chance until now, but I want you to know how sorry I am about Fred. I'm going to miss him, a lot. If there's anything...," he paused, knowing how hollow it sounded. If he hadn't been _what_ he was, Fred might still be alive. If he'd taken a few different choices and paths, Fred might be cracking jokes beside them now. "If I can help you in any way, let me know."

Mrs. Weasley stood up and hugged Harry. "Thank you," she said. Mr. Weasley shook Harry's hand.

Looking to all the Weasleys and nodding his head to them, Harry decided to walk away and let them have some privacy. He'd always felt like a member of their family, but this was one time where he didn't feel he should intrude upon them for too long. He thought about finding Hermione, but decided that she might want some space too, so he thought he'd walk outside to the Entrance Courtyard and get some fresh air.

In what was left of the Courtyard, he found a bench that was still intact and safe to sit on, and sat down on it with a resigned thump. _Whatever good happens, why does it always have to have bad with it too? _he thought. _Voldemort is gone, I'm alive again, yet my friends are at each other's throats, if the scene back there is anything to go by. I've lost my girlfriend, but the reasons why I've lost her are also the reasons why I'm breathing now. I know life is unfair, but _why _does it have to be?_

When Harry had found Ron in Myrtle's bathroom, he'd found a red-faced, angry and confused young man. Ron had been physically sick a couple of times...so Myrtle had told him in graphic detail, and it had taken all his wit and resolve to get Ron to go to the Great Hall. He didn't want his friend to have the regret of not having this moment with his brother. It might have turned into a very tense and slightly nasty scene, but Harry still thought he'd done the right thing, in getting Ron to see Fred again.

He hadn't mentioned anything to Ron about Hermione andfinding her unconscious, he didn't think it would help the situation in any way whatsoever at that moment. Aside from the fact, it really was an accident and his friend didn't intend to hurt Hermione at all. Ron had kept saying 'why?' a lot, and Harry knew that there was nothing he could really do to help. It was, unfortunately, something Ron would have to go through himself. _I'm not sure I've gone through my own problems yet, _thought Harry. _A part of me might suddenly go all grief-stricken over Ginny. I'm thinking I won't, but with emotions no one knows when they might come back to bite._

"Hello, Harry," said a voice.

Harry turned his head and saw Luna walking over to the bench. "Hi Luna, all right?"

"Yes, very," she said. "Would you like some chocolate?" She passed him a bar of milk chocolate. Harry opened the bar, broke off a couple of pieces and made to hand the bar back. "No, you keep it, there's plenty going round," said Luna.

"Thanks."

"Would you mind if I sat here?" Luna asked. "If you want to be alone, I understand, I can find somewhere else to sit?"

"Please," said Harry, gesturing to the bench. "I was thinking too much about things and getting nowhere anyway."

"Anything I can help you with?" asked Luna cheerfully.

"No, I don't think so," replied Harry. "It's just the feeling that we've won, but there's still so much that's gone wrong, or is about to go wrong."

"It's balance," said Luna, simply. "Think of the universe as one big set of scales, constantly trying to balance. Where one thing exists, its opposite has to exist too...not necessarily to face it or fight it, but to balance things. In our world we had You Know Who and his followers, but on our side, the good side, we also had you."

"Then why does it seem as though some things or people have a more...a more one-sided experience than others?" Harry offered. "Take Neville, both his parents were essentially taken from him, although they're alive he's basically lost them, like I have with mine. One parent maybe, but why take both parents?"

"I don't think the theory works on individual cases," said Luna, thoughtfully. "It's about the whole, or as some people call it, 'the greater good'. It doesn't work on like-for-like things all the time. I do believe, however, that if a person does something terrible it would take a lot longer of trying to be good to even it out. I think the bad things weigh heavier, which means they sometimes take longer to fight. The immense good you've done, Harry, far outweighs what You Know Who did, but for such a huge amount of good there has to be a little bad to try and match it."

"That makes sense," said Harry. "I think I get it. It's almost like saying, you can't have it your own way all the time, you have to be pulled back with little things to give you focus, perspective and keep you in balance."

"Yes, that's exactly it," said Luna. "Say you ate that entire bar of chocolate. You'd feel happy and would have enjoyed it, but it's likely that later you'll feel sick, have a headache or put on weight. That's the bad pulling back the balance."

_Shit! _thought Harry, _I'm actually understanding one of Luna's theories! Scary! But basically she's right, and I knew it already, where Ginny was concerned. The price of beating Voldemort and coming back, was to let Ginny go. Maybe the aggro between Ron and Hermione is also the balance thing having a little say. Lovers' tiffs really are trivial compared with defeating Voldemort and his Death Eaters, though. Perspective!_

Then Harry thought back to Snape, _he loved my Mum for years, and she cared for him too. In the end he had to watch as she ended up with my Dad. It might be the same for me, as I watch Ginny with Hermione. Except..._except_, I don't hate Hermione. So there's hope I won't end up as a black-robed bitter old git! _He actually smiled at that thought.

"Did the Wand feel different when you faced You Know Who?" asked Luna, bringing Harry out of his thoughts.

"Yeah. It's hard to explain," Harry answered, as he pulled out the Wand from his jacket. "It was like it became part of me, but to be honest, I'm not sure if _I_ was using it, or _it_ was using me."

As Harry looked at the Elder Wand in his hand, he was amazed once more at how events had worked out, but at the same time he felt very troubled. Everyone in the Great Hall would know about it and in no time at all, the whole magical world would know about it too. Voldemort and the majority of the Death Eaters might be gone, but if his various experiences and knowledge had taught him anything, it was the fact that the Wand was dangerous to own. Someone else would always want it, and it was only the skill of Dumbledore which had kept it hidden for so long.

A notion came to him then and he reached into a pocket hoping he would find what he wanted and hadn't discarded it when they found Hermione. After trying his second pocket, he brought out the broken pieces of his original wand.

Luna noticed. "It's just as well you had that other wand, isn't it?"

Harry nodded his head, and pointing the Elder Wand at the broken halves of the other wand, he uttered "_Reparo!_", not knowing if it would work. If anything could mend his old wand then this was likely to be the only chance.

Both Harry and Luna watched in fascination as the pieces of the broken wand appeared to join up, as if pulled into place by magnets. In a blur, the frayed pieces of wood were seamlessly joined together, and in a few seconds Harry held his old wand, looking exactly as it had before it was broken, escaping Voldemort in Godric's Hollow.

"It looks mended," said Luna. "Try it. Does it feel as it used to?"

Harry pointed his old wand at a pile of rubble and used a simple _Wingardium Leviosa_ charm, and effortlessly a chunk of rubble was lifted into the air. He used _Repulso_ on the rubble and couldn't contain a laugh as the lump of masonry flew yards away from him. "It feels like it always did!" he said, happily.

"I didn't know wands could even _be_ mended?" said Luna, her inquiring mind already thinking deeply about it.

"I don't think they can be, usually," said Harry. "But this _is _the Elder Wand."

Looking at his old wand in his right hand and the Elder Wand in his left, he immediately had a thought. _I'm never going to get any peace, as long as I have this, _he thought. _The only person I could trust to have the Wand and not lose it, was Dumbledore...but he's gone. AND he did actually lose it in the end to Malfoy. That leaves..._

"Luna," he said. "Would you think I'm crazy if I said I'm going to destroy the Wand?"

"Crazy? You're not crazy, Harry," said Luna. "And it's not crazy to say that either. I would think as long as the Wand exists, there'll be people trying to catch you unawares just for a chance at it. Something tells me you've had enough of being a target. You can't hide it anywhere, because even Gringotts isn't completely safe, as you proved. It's logical that destroying it is the best option."

"I think I need to talk with Dumbledore first," said Harry. "You know, his portrait."

"That also makes sense."

"Do you want to come along?" asked Harry.

"If you wanted me to, of course," said Luna. "But I think this might be something where you need to talk to him alone."

Harry nodded at Luna, gave her a smile and walked back into the Entrance Hall. _Destroying the Wand IS the only way...not just for me to have some peace, but so no one else can start something. No one should have the opportunity to own it, _he thought, as he made his way to the stairwell for the Headmaster's Office, or what was left of it. Finding the Office still standing, stepping over rubble and broken glass, he found Dumbledore's portrait and his former Headmaster was in the frame, as if waiting for him. As he explained how he felt and what he'd done with his old wand and his plan for the Elder Wand, Dumbledore had smiled knowingly, and agreed with Harry's decision.

"And what of the Stone?" asked Dumbledore. "In its own way it's as dangerous as the Wand, in a similar way to the Mirror of Erised. You probably haven't had a chance to try it, which is just as well in some ways. As much as you might like to, you can not live with the dead, Harry. The people you've loved and lost will never truly be gone, as long as you keep their memory strong in your heart. To have the Resurrection Stone available, for you to see your loved ones, when times are tough, or on a whim, would be wrong. It would be unhealthy to yourself and as you know, those loved ones do not truly belong in your plain of existence anymore."

"I hadn't thought about it yet," replied Harry, as he looked at his hand still wearing the Ring. "I'm not sure how I _can_ destroy it? What if I threw it into the Black Lake?"

"It would seem like a wonderful option," said the former Headmaster. "But things at the bottom of lakes very often find their way to the surface again, through some means."

"Would trying to smash it work?" asked Harry.

"A magical item would be guarded against magical harm, but I'm not sure trying to break it with a rock was ever in the thoughts of the one whom created it. Do you have a large stone or heavy rock?" said an amused Dumbledore. "Oh yes, look, my old office seems to be full of them!"

Harry looked at the broken fragments of wall and statues around him and picked up a heavy piece which he could comfortably hold to use. He pulled off the Ring from his finger and placed it onto the stone floor. Going to one knee, he brought down the the piece of stone in his hand with tremendous force, willing it and imagining the Resurrection Stone shattering.

There was a dull cracking noise, which didn't sound too promising, and Harry lifted his crushing stone to bring it down again, but stopped. The Resurrection Stone had broken free from the Ring and had cracked into four pieces. Harry held the Elder Wand and cast _Reducto_ on the now very ordinary, non-magical, pieces of gem stone, and before his eyes what was left of the Stone was dust. He stood up and dragged his foot through the residue, sending gem dust in several directions.

"Done," said Harry to Dumbledore's portrait. "Now this," he said, as he looked at the Elder Wand one last time before holding it in both hands and twisting and bending the Wand in opposing directions.

He had to use all his strength and could feel the Wand almost blister the palms of his hands, like a rope burn, as he tried to twist and break it. Just before he nearly gave up, he heard an almighty snapping noise and felt his hands nearly slip, and was pleased to discover the Wand was in two pieces, frayed at the point of the break. As if to make sure of things, Harry pulled out his own wand and cast _Incendio_ onto the now, essentially, ordinary bits of wood, and dropped the pieces of broken wand as they burst into flames, leaving burned, blackened sticks on the floor. He stamped on them and felt the papery carbon texture disintergrate beneath his shoe.

"What about the Cloak?" asked Harry. "It's a Hallow too?"

"The Cloak is different," said Dumbledore. "And you inherited it by birthright, you didn't take it by force or desire or even need. You may do with it as you wish, of course, but I think it will be more useful in your possession than destroyed. It also doesn't have the serious connotations the other two Hallows had."

It left Harry and Dumbledore to talk of some very mundane things, before the old wizard thanked his protégé and Harry left the Office to return to the living and some form of normality, even though that looked likely to be just as complicated now.

**A/N: You might think there was quite a bit of Harry in this chapter, but I wanted to tidy up any issues with the Elder Wand, Stone and his Cloak, so it doesn't become a 'wondering' issue later. **

**In the book and in the movie I wasn't completely happy with either ending about the Wand, so I've sort of combined the two. :)**


	64. Complicated

**A/N: The current section of 4 or 5 chapters don't happen over several days, more like 24-36 hours-ish. There's lots of reactions and interactions I'll be taking you through with various characters and events. Most things get explained as you read along, but sometimes questions that arise in a chapter don't get answered until another chapter.**

**The way to describe the various things to follow is a fluctuation between simmer and boil. ;)**

**As in my other story I prefer not to write Fleur with a comical French accent, mainly because it completely drives me nuts to read/write phonetic accented speech. We all know she's French, but I happen to think she's very intelligent, (she must be, to have been the Triwizard champion for Beauxbatons), and I always think writing an exaggerated accent makes her sound a bit thick, which she isn't. So you'll just have to imagine her saying everything with a slight French twang. :)**

**Yes, I'm early with this update...getting ahead so I can watch more Olympics. :)**

64: Complicated

The Weasley family were still around Fred when one of the Ministry officials walked up to them. He was a short, middle-aged man in blue robes, but had a kind face. Arthur Weasley looked up and saw the man coming over to them and stood up to shake hands with him.

"Is it time, Bob?" asked Arthur.

"Yes, but when you're ready," the man, Bob, whom Arthur seemed to know, added, "He'll be given the utmost care and respect."

"And we can have the funeral tomorrow at the Burrow? There's no problems with that?"

"I've already sorted out the paperwork for you, Arthur," said the Ministry man. "All will be ready for tomorrow with all the arrangements, as we discussed. Try to get some rest, now."

"How did you manage to get the funeral so fast, Dad?" asked Bill, after Bob had walked a respectful distance away.

"I've been an acquaintance of Bob's for a while, and he was kind enough to put us to the top of the list. Sadly that's a very long list," sighed Mr. Weasley. "I just thought we'd all feel better if we could deal with things as soon as possible and not let events drag on. Having...having Fred laid to rest as soon as we can, will help all of us, and allow us to start the healing process, however long that takes." Bill nodded in agreement.

The Weasleys all stepped back, taking a last look at Fred as he was covered again, and the Ministry official stood next to the body, flicked his wand, making both himself and Fred Disapparate somewhere, obviously being able to Apparate and Disapparate at Hogwarts now. It was possible that in its wrecked state Hogwarts no longer had the charms and laws it normally had. The Weasley family all went back to the table they'd been sitting at. A few minutes later the Ministry man, Bob, Apparated back, nodded to Arthur and went over to talk with McGonagall before sorting out the paperwork for the next lost soul.

Ginny seated herself as far away from Ron as possible and also on the opposite side of the long table, with her head resting on her folded arms. Bill and Fleur came and sat next to her. "Everything all right, Gin?" her eldest brother asked.

"I honestly don't know," she said.

"We...err, sort of noticed that something is going on between you and Ron, and Ron and Hermione? Some disagreement?"

"You could say that," she replied, glumly. "I don't really want to talk about it. It's all a big mess. And...and it's complicated and...and I wouldn't know where to start," she said. _Actually I do know where to start, _she thought, _I could start at the 'Hermione and I are together' part, but how I'd begin to start telling Bill that, I have no idea!?_

"If I had to guess, I'd say it involves your trip back in time with Hermione?" said Bill, and when Ginny didn't respond, nearly answering the question for him, he simply added, "You know where to find me if you ever need to talk, or just have someone to listen to you."

Ginny turned her head and looked at her brother. "Thanks."

"If you need to talk to another girl," said Fleur. "I'm here for you too."

As Ginny looked at her sister-in-law, whom she'd insisted on calling 'Phlegm' for months, she saw genuine kindness and concern. "Thanks, Fleur," she was able to reply, thinking that she might have to drop the 'Phlegm' thing for a while. "What's happening now?" she asked them.

"Right now, you mean?" asked Bill.

"Yes, and in a little while. Are we going home, or...what's the plan?"

"I think Mum and Dad want us to go back to the Burrow soon. There's nothing left here for us to do. We all need to get some sleep if we can, even if it _is_ morning now."

"Oh. Is it just us, or does that include Harry too?" Ginny wondered.

"He's welcome in anyone's house after what happened here," smiled Bill. "I think Mum hopes he'll stay with us, anyway. She feels she has a claim on him; always considers herself his adopted mother."

Ginny had a feeling that she was being watched; a prickly sensation that even muggles were often aware of. She looked around the table and at the other end she saw Ron staring at her, or to be more accurate, he was glaring at her. She held his gaze for a few moments, but couldn't keep it up and broke eye contact, feeling almost like she'd been defeated in a duel, which made her feel even more annoyed with him. She had the inner turmoil of wanting to punch Ron several times, but that was laced with an annoying sense of guilt over being partly responsible for why he was acting that way, and she also didn't want to draw anymore attention to the situation than she had to. It left her feeling depressed and it made everything feel much more complex and confusing than she thought possible.

It was after Ginny had averted her eyes from Ron, that another thought came to her. _Hermione. I don't think she can stay at the Burrow, not with Ron the way he is. Where will she go? She doesn't have a home at the moment?! _

"Bill, normally I'd assume that Hermione is invited, like Harry, to the Burrow, but I don't think Ron would deal with it, the way he's acting. And _I_ can't deal with the thought of him blowing up in my face every few minutes when he sees me even talking to her."

"Hmm, perhaps it wouldn't be advisable for Hermione to stay with us just now," said Bill. "You don't have to tell me why you're all tetchy with each other, but I'm not sure Mum and Dad could cope with Fred's funeral tomorrow, having had you three fighting leading up to it."

"That's what I thought. I'm just worried about where Hermione will go," said Ginny. "Since she made her parents go to Australia, she doesn't have a home."

"She can stay at Shell Cottage," said Bill. "She stayed there for a while after they all escaped the Malfoys, she's familiar with it."

"Hermione is welcome to stay with us for as long as she needs to," said Fleur.

"Really?" asked Ginny.

"We wouldn't offer if we didn't mean it," said Bill, placing a hand on his sister's arm. "She's more than welcome and she can go there whenever she likes."

Ginny sat up straight again and made to stand up. "I'll go and find her and tell her. Then I'll come back here. Thanks Bill, thanks Fleur."

As Ginny walked away to leave the Hall, Bill and Fleur looked at each other, and Bill shrugged his shoulders. "I have no idea what's going on with that lot," he whispered.

"Well, I think you were defintely right about it being connected to the time-travel issue," said Fleur.

"It's probably something as simple as Ron throwing a tantrum about Hermione not taking him with her, and so he's angry with Hermione _and_ Ginny," suggested Bill.

"It might be. You Weasleys do have infamous tempers," smirked Fleur. "But would he be so nasty and rude to Hermione, over something like her not telling him about it or taking him with her?"

"He's Ron," said Bill with a little laugh. "Anything's possible!"

XXXXXXXXXX

For the first time in a couple of hours, Ginny actually felt a bit lighter in mood. Hermione wouldn't be with her at the Burrow, and she tried not to think on that too much, but she _would_ have a home with Bill and Fleur. At least she would be safe and comfortable, until they could sort things out...somehow.

Ginny had a longer walk to the Owlery than usual, due to having to take different paths, from the extensive rubble and debris of the Battle. She also glimpsed Harry in the Entrance Courtyard and decided to take a different route, as she didn't want to stop and talk with him. Her mind was focused on finding Hermione.

From a good way off she could see that the Owlery was almost untouched, with only a couple of holes in the side of the main tower. There was no one else in this part of the school, and Ginny passed no one on her way there. She walked into the Owlery and knew that Hermione would probably be in her secret room, which until her dream, Ginny hadn't known about.

She climbed the steps, spiralling around the inside of the tower, passing the first and second floors and taking the narrower stairs up further. Ginny saw the door, which from the outside, nobody would ever guess that it concealed a small room space beyond. It looked like it was a door to a cupboard, which hadn't been opened in centuries.

Walking up to the door, Ginny knocked. "Are you in there, Hermione? It's me, Ginny."

A small shuffling sound followed and the door was opened. Ginny was faced by a red-eyed and tired Hermione. She walked the couple of paces into the room, closing the door behind her, as Hermione walked back to look out at the view from the glassless window.

As she had in her dream, Ginny walked up behind Hermione and wrapped her arms around her waist, holding her, as they both gazed out at the spectacular scenery. "I'm so sorry about Ron," she said in a soft voice. "I couldn't believe how he acted in the Hall."

Hermione placed her hands over Ginny's, as they held her, leaning back into the embrace. "It's not your fault, Ginny. He's upset, confused and angry. That never makes for rational thinking. It all got the better of him. I remember telling you that I thought it would break my heart to tell Ron about us, but I didn't feel it as badly as that. I mostly felt shocked and so annoyed that we had to say anything before we were ready. I do understand some of what he must be feeling, but I was pissed off with how he marched me out of the Hall like a First Year on detention!"

"I'm pissed off with him on a lot of levels, including him leaving you out cold in that classroom!" said Ginny. "He was still glaring at me, before I left the Great Hall. I couldn't look at him. I'm so tired, and I'm already tired of _him_!"

"It's only the start," said Hermione. "I think we got incredibly lucky with Harry, because he could have reacted exactly the same. And I know Ron didn't mean to hurt me, he was in such a hurry to get out of the room and...well, it doesn't matter now."

"Hmph," replied Ginny, still unhappy about it. "I'm bloody relieved Ron didn't just blurt something out. When he started on you, I felt sure that was the next thing he was going to say. It was the only thing stopping me from kicking him in the crown jewels, a fear that he might spill the beans in front of everyone."

"I think he's embarrassed. He's never been exactly comfortable with any emotions regarding relationships anyway. Part of him might still be trying to process it, but I'm not sure he'll be too eager, however angry he is, to reveal that his girlfriend prefers his sister," said Hermione with the slightest of smiles. "Your brothers have always made fun of each other and especially of Ron, so his defence mechanism is not to broadcast it. If so, that's a bit of a help to us, for a little while longer."

"So maybe I _could_ have inflicted some pain, after all?" said Ginny.

"I wouldn't have wanted to test that theory," said Hermione, then she gave a little laugh. "I admire your restraint and your level-headed thinking, though."

"How's your headache?" asked Ginny, as she placed a kiss to the side of Hermione's head.

"Nearly gone, which is a miracle after everything that's happened."

"I wish it was just us and that little house in Godric's Hollow, now," sighed Ginny.

"Oh, I've had that thought a lot since I came up here," said Hermione with a laugh.

"There's something I need to tell you about my family," said Ginny. "I've talked with Bill and he agrees, that maybe you...,"

"I'm not going to the Burrow, Gin," said Hermione. "It would be stupid of me, and your parents have enough on their plate without me adding to the tension today."

"You've read my mind?!"

"Not really, but it's obvious it's on the agenda, as that's probably where you and your family will be going shortly," said Hermione calmly. "It's all right, I'm fine. I'll either rent a room at The Leaky Cauldron or even in a muggle hotel."

"That's the other thing," said Ginny. "When I was talking to Bill and Fleur, they said you can stay at Shell Cottage for as long as you need to. You can stay there now, while they're at the Burrow."

Hermione turned in Ginny's arms, looking marginally worried. "They don't know about us, do they?"

"No. Bill was asking, wanting to know what was going on and why we were all acting angrily, but I couldn't go into it. Anyway, he's not pushing for answers; he and Fleur said I could talk to them if I needed to. They were extremely nice, actually."

"They must have been, because you didn't call her 'Phlegm'," said Hermione, with a smile. "Thank you. You do have a wonderful family."

"I'm pleased I'll know where you are and that you're safe," said Ginny. "I didn't like thinking of you alone at the Cauldron. At least you'll be more comfortable and familiar with Shell Cottage."

"I think it's a wonderful idea. Are they okay for me to go there in a little while?"

"Yeah, whenever you want to." Then Ginny felt gloomy again. "Fred's funeral is tomorrow. Dad was saying he got us put to the top of the list, or something. I haven't heard all the details yet, but from what Dad said I think we're having it at the Burrow, and it sounded like Fred might be buried on our land somewhere."

"I'd better not be there for that either," said Hermione.

"What?!" Ginny hadn't considered that she'd have to go through that event without Hermione with her.

"Things get tense at funerals, anyway," said Hermione. "I don't want to ruin anything, or be the cause of something getting out of hand. I would dearly love to be there, for you, for your parents and for Fred, but I don't think it's wise."

"It will be so much harder without you there," said a forlorn Ginny, even though she had to admit that it made sense in the circumstances.

"You'll be all right, Gin," said Hermione, looking into her eyes. "You've coped with so much these past few weeks. You're much stronger than you realize. I'll be there for you later, you know where I'll be."

Hermione wrapped her arms around Ginny and held her, and leaned in to kiss her softly. Both women were almost shaking with the huge events they had been through and their current situation now. The kiss was tender, unhurried and deeply moving. When they parted, they leaned in and touched foreheads.

"It's felt so long since I last did that," said Hermione.

"It _was_ hours ago," said Ginny, as she touched her lips to Hermione's again. "I just want to be with you, alone somewhere. I'm so tired, I'm not sure I could do much more than sleep, but I want to be in a bed with you."

Hugging Ginny to her, Hermione gave a soft laugh. "I know," she said. "I feel like that too. I don't like the thought of sleeping without you next to me."

"I had to do that for a little while, and I hated it," said Ginny. "I...I had to bunch up the spare pillows in the covers and pretend that it was you in the bed. It made me feel pathetic, but I had to do something, and that was before we even got close."

"We'll both get through this," Hermione said. "We need to take one day at a time," she paused, thinking on something she'd been wondering about since the Battle had ended. "Ginny, do you hurt where Bellatrix's curse hit you?"

"Not really, I'm a little stiff I suppose. It felt a bit like I was punched hard with something. Why?"

"I haven't had the chance to ask you, or the privacy to check for you."

"Check for me?" asked Ginny.

Hermione smiled and held the hem of Ginny's shirt, pushing up the material. "I couldn't exactly do this in the Great Hall, could I?"

"I see what you mean."

Rolling the material up to nearly under Ginny's chin, not expecting to find anything, but interested all the same, Hermione let out a little gasp as she saw a large bruise across the middle of Ginny's chest, showing below and above her bra line, to the top of her stomach.

"Are you sure you don't hurt?" asked Hermione, concerned.

"No, honestly."

"You've got a horrific bruise developing there. Do you want me to try some dittany for you?"

"No, it's okay. For now it doesn't hurt, but if it does later, I'll tell Mum about it, use dittany then, or something," said Ginny.

Ginny couldn't contain a surprised gasp of her own, as she felt Hermione place small kisses to the tops of her breasts and the area she was told was bruised, before Hermione carefully rolled down her shirt again.

"I have no idea what happened with that necklace," said Hermione. "Harry was able to take the Wand from you with _Expelliarmus, _which is an attacking spell, and it didn't block that, yet it saved you from the Killing Curse?"

Briefly moving her hand to her neck to touch the necklace, Ginny wasn't sure how it worked either. "I don't know. Harry's spell did make me end up on my arse, so maybe that was the necklace trying to repell it?"

"But he still got the Wand," said Hermione. "I wonder if it's because you didn't feel threatened and you allowed the spell? But that would suggest the necklace is capable of interpreting or sensing if you're threatened?! It's very strange."

"I'm glad you got me to wear it."

"So am I!" replied an adamant Hermione. "I thought I'd lost you. I thought it was the last time I was going to see you. It's felt like ages since we've been able to kiss and hold each other, but for a nasty few moments back there I...I never thought I'd get the chance again. That I'd only have...memories. That you went to a place where I couldn't follow..." Her voice faltered, and she closed her eyes taking a steadying breath, her cheeks wet with freshly shed tears.

With her arms around her, Ginny held Hermione, knowing what she might have been feeling, drawing on how she felt when Hermione went missing, and how it felt to see Fred lying there lifeless. Unable to speak, she simply joined her lips to Hermione's and let her feel what she wanted to say; that she loved her and was so happy she hadn't left her and was still alive. For several minutes they stood there holding each other.

"Is Harry going to be at the Burrow?" asked Hermione, finally breaking the emotional silence.

"Yeah, I think so." Ginny wondered if Hermione was worried she'd get back together with Harry if he was there too, but that wasn't on the brunette's mind.

"That's good," said Hermione. "I wondered where he was going to go. I know Grimmauld Place is his, but I can't think of a more gloomy or lonely place to be, it might not even be safe yet. I'm glad he'll be with your family."

"From what Bill said, I think he could have the pick of any house in the country! I'm just so glad he's not acting like Ron. As awkward as it will be, I think I'll be glad he's at the Burrow too," said Ginny. Then she let out a frustrated groan. "I'll have to be getting back. I told Bill I'd be back once I'd told you about Shell Cottage."

"You have to do what you have to do," said Hermione, as she cupped Ginny's cheek. "If it's a couple of days before we see each other, so be it, just know that I'll be thinking of you, all the time we're apart. I love you."

"I love you, Hermione."

The two women shared another kiss, more passionate, deeper, conveying all their love and hurt, arms wrapped tightly around each other, little moans elicited, before finally breaking apart, tears anew.

"If you don't go now," said Hermione, trying hard not to cry further. "I might never let you leave."

"I wish you _would_ stop me," said Ginny, sniffling, also trying to keep some composure.

Hermione pressed her lips to Ginny's again. "Go. We all have to do things we don't want to. I'll be waiting for you at Shell Cottage. Go on, now."

Ginny looked Hermione in the eyes one last time and somehow willed herself to turn and leave. Her body wanted to crumple into a heap and sob, but she managed to keep walking down the steps and back out of the Owlery. She walked on towards the main castle and didn't look back once, knowing her resolve would shatter if she did.

_It might not be for long, _thought Ginny. _I might see her again by tomorrow night. At least at Shell Cottage it won't seem so strange for me to go there. I never thought any of it would be easy, but I never thought it would be so hard either. _She moved a hand to her chest, feeling an ache within her; she knew it was for Hermione and had nothing to do with Bellatrix.

XXXXXXXXXX

Standing, looking out at the picturesque scenery, Hermione had also placed a hand against her chest, feeling a tugging, sore sensation, almost screaming at her to go after Ginny and stop her leaving. _I can't, _she thought. _She has to be with her family now. At least I'll feel relaxed at Shell Cottage, even if she isn't there with me. It won't be for long._

Hermione had all she needed in her beaded bag and, checking it was safely in her pocket, she walked out of the Owlery. She walked several paces away from it, looked back at Hogwarts Castle for a few seconds, hardly believing what had happened there in the last few hours, then Disapparated to the beach near Shell Cottage.

The sun was breaking through the clouds, glistening on the sea as it lapped gently at the shore, the tide out and the waves small. A few sea gulls whirled around squawking to each other. The air smelled of salt water and seaweed. Hermione closed her eyes and inhaled several breaths, and despite everything, she felt more at ease already. She walked up to the beautiful Shell Cottage, and remembering the charms guarding it, was able to open the door and go inside.

Hermione was aware of how exhausted she felt now, and stopping only to take a glass of water with her, she went upstairs to what she knew to be the spare bedroom. The bed looked invitingly comfortable. She found up a T'Shirt and bottoms from her bag, and feeling lazy, changed into them using a flick of her wand.

Slipping under the covers, she gave a little laugh, as she decided to do what Ginny had told her about, and bunched the spare pillows into the covers and laid against them. It wasn't anything like sleeping next to Ginny, but it would have to do. Closing her tired eyes, trying not to think about Ron, Hermione was soon fast asleep.

XXXXXXXXXX

Back at the Burrow, Ginny had gone straight to her bedroom as soon as she'd arrived, not stopping for a snack, or a cup of tea, or anything. She had been going to Disapparate herself, until Bill pointed out that she hadn't passed her test for that yet. She told him she doubted the Ministry currently had time to keep tabs on non-tested Apparating witches or wizards, but Bill answered that they should observe the laws regardless. He knew she was perfectly capable, but insisted that he Side-Along Apparate her to the house. Ginny laid on her bed on her side, curled up; she felt exhausted both mentally and physically and she was so very aware of not being with Hermione.

George had gone to his room, and Ginny could only imagine how hard it would be for him to see Fred's belongings and his empty bed. Ron had gone to his room too, brooding and acting as though he really did have a storm cloud hovering over his head. Harry was still going to share with Ron and was possibly the only person willing to go near Ron with his current disposition. Harry had been quiet, and said he continued to feel a little slow and was taking a while to totally comprehend what had happened, but hoped some sleep would help with that. Ginny was about to close her eyes when there was a knock on her door. It opened and her mother walked in.

"Hi, Mum," said Ginny, sitting up. "Do you need me to help with anything?"

"No, dear. I just came to talk with you," said Molly Weasley, as she sat on the edge of Ginny's bed. "What's going on between you, Ron and Hermione?"

"Oh, that," Ginny groaned.

"I couldn't believe what happened in the Great Hall?! I thought Ron and Hermione had finally got together, but obviously not?! What _has _caused all this friction?"

"It's complicated, Mum."

"All arguments are."

_I can't tell her everything, not with what she has to face tomorrow, _thought Ginny, worried. _Aside from the fact I don't know how I'm ever going to tell her about the real reasons why Ron has got the hump with us._

"If you won't tell me," said Mrs. Weasley, "Do you think you can at least make it up with your brother before tomorrow?"

Ginny knew she was wearing a horrified expression. "It's complicated."

"Don't give me that! Is any argument really worth you three glaring at each other over...over poor Fred's grave?"

"Hermione's not going to be here tomorrow," said Ginny.

"Why ever not?"

"Because she doesn't want to cause any unnecessary tension or add to everyone's grief. She wanted to be here for all of us, but she said she would stay away to avoid causing any problems."

"Bill told me she's staying at Shell Cottage, after what happened in the Hall," Mrs. Weasley said. "I didn't think she'd stay away for the funeral too."

"Bill and Fleur have been very kind, and it's probably all for the best," said Ginny, her mind drifting to the Cottage and wondering whether Hermione was settled there yet.

"Won't you talk to me?" her mother almost pleaded. "Just because of everything else, I still have time for you, Ginny. You _can_ talk to me."

Ginny reached for her mother's hand. "I know, Mum. It's all a big mess. And as much as I want to talk to you, I can't talk about all of it yet. I will say, it involves the fact I went with Hermione, back in time, and Ron didn't."

"Ah, I see. I can't imagine Ron liked that much?"

_I can tell Mum some basics, without getting too close to the real subject, _thought Ginny. "Hermione knew she might have to go on some sort of mission, although it wasn't until the last moment that she knew the details. But, she never told Ron about there even _being_ a possible back-up plan she'd agreed to help with. And he really didn't like it, nor did he like the fact I went with her. I only went because I followed her, wondering what McGonagall was getting her to do, and when I heard, I was determined she wouldn't go alone. No one planned my going, it just happened. Then there were explosions and McGonagall was injured and we had to go then or not at all, so my going, wasn't up for anymore consideration. I just went."

"I think I'm understanding things a little," said Mrs. Weasley.

_Oh nooo, you really aren't! _thought Ginny. "Hermione and I went through a lot. It made us both more confident. Right from the start we worked as a team, which was vital, as we faced more and more difficult situations. Unfortunately, I think Hermione might have praised my abilities a bit too much in front of Ron, which has added to it all."

"Ron has always been the jealous type," said Mrs. Weasley. "Of course he wanted it to be him off on adventures."

"Mum, it wasn't an adventure. It was serious, very serious. We had to think about nearly everything we did from all angles, be paranoid most of the time and on top of that suffer some of the worst nightmares imaginable."

"I know, but I expect he sees it as a chance where he could have shown his mettle."

"He hasn't got anything to prove," said Ginny, almost exasperated. "Everyone knows the things he's gone through with Harry and Hermione over the years."

"That's just it, they always came first. He thinks people see him as another Peter Pettigrew, hanging onto the coat tails of 'the brilliant' Harry and Hermione," said Mrs. Weasley. "All teenage boys want to grab their own limelight, and Ron especially."

"Anyway, as I said, it's complicated too, but I don't think I can just waltz up to him and shake hands and think it's all over," said Ginny, gloomily. "The way he was glaring at me in the Great Hall, he's more likely to spit at me. But try not to worry, Mum. I don't intend to get into any fights with him tomorrow. I'll give him plenty of space. I've even thought I might go to Bill and Fleur's tomorrow night, see how Hermione is, and give Ron plenty of air for him to stomp around and grumble without me here."

"I'd like you here, with me," said Mrs. Weasley.

"I know, but it might be calmer for everyone, if I kept a low profile for a few days. You'll know where I am and I'll still be with family." _And hopefully able to hold and kiss Hermione, _she thought, although she felt a little guilty about not being able to tell her mother all of that yet.

Her mother nodded and understood. "It must be hard for Hermione, not having her family here. I hate to think of her alone at the Cottage, but at least she's got a safe roof over her head tonight."

"Exactly. I didn't like the thought of her being alone at The Leaky Cauldron or somewhere else, after everything that's happened. But I was happier once I knew she could stay at Bill's."

Mrs. Weasley stood up, then leaned over to press a kiss to the top of Ginny's head. "You're an amazing, brave girl and your father and I are so proud of you. And whenever you feel ready, you can talk to us. Perhaps sharing your troubles won't make things seem so _complicated_?"

"Thanks, Mum," said Ginny, deeply moved by her mother's words. "Oh and thanks for getting Bellatrix."

"That bitch had it coming to her!" Mrs. Weasley said firmly. "I thought you were taken from us, but even if I hadn't thought that, I'd have battled that old hag!"

Ginny had to laugh. "I love you, Mum."

"I love you too, sweetheart. Get some sleep if you can," said Mrs. Weasley as she left, and closed the door behind her.

_What wonderful parents I have, _thought Ginny. _But when they eventually find out that it wasn't just my going with Hermione, instead of Ron, which has got my brother wound up, what will their reaction be to that? When Bill finds out, will he and Fleur be so accommodating to Hermione? Let alone be so nice to me too? _

Ginny got up from her bed, opened a drawer to find something to sleep in and lazily flicked her wand to change into her nightclothes. She then got into bed, wearily, wishing again that Hermione was with her, to kiss and to hold and to sleep next to.

_I hope you're able to get some rest and sleep too, Hermione, _thought Ginny. _I so hope I can see you tomorrow._

As her thoughts had gone to Hermione and how much she missed her, she nearly jumped out of her skin when the bed seemed to move. "What the...?!" Ginny said out loud. The answer came before she even finished her question, when a big fluffy ginger lump walked up from the end of the bed and rubbed it's head against her hand. "Crookshanks?!"

The cat had quietly walked in when her mother left. Ginny had often slept with Crookshanks on her bed when Hermione was away with Ron and Harry. She ruffled his fur and rubbed his ears, enjoying the purr she was getting from him. As she was half lying down, half sitting up in bed, Crookshanks walked up and sat on her stomach, but began prodding her chest. It wasn't a usual cat's milk-treading behaviour, it was like he was poking her with a paw.

"What?" asked Ginny. _As if he's going to answer me?! _she thought.

It was then she remembered her bruising, the parting gift from Bellatrix. _How did Crookshanks know about that?_ she wondered. She used _Accio _to get a little mirror from her desk, moved the cat and then lifted her T'Shirt and looked at the bruising. _No wonder Hermione gasped!_ she thought, as she viewed the now purple and blackening bruise.

As she'd told Hermione what she would do, she rummaged in her own bag and found up the orignal bottle of dittany they had. She dropped several drips onto herself, flinching from the slight stinging sensations, but she was pleased to see the worst of the bruising was looking much better and fading.

_I had the Killing Curse thrown at me, and lived! _she thought, _that's mad! _Ginny put a hand to her neck and realized she was still wearing the necklace of Andrasta. Although it had saved her life, she didn't want to wear it any longer, and picking up her wand again, she flicked it once and put the necklace into its box and then into her bag.

With a yawn and a little jiffling to try and get comfortable, Ginny saw Crookshanks curl up next to her. _Well, I may not be able to have Hermione, but I've nearly got the next best thing...her cat! _she comforted by the warmth of another living entity close to her, and that being Crookshanks, Ginny closed her eyes and soon found sleep.


	65. Brotherly Love

**A/N: I know I'm slower with this update. Unfortunately real life sometimes has to take precedence over sitting and staring at a laptop screen. Sometimes it's also nice to do something else too...keeps the mind fresh. :) **

65: Brotherly Love

Hermione had woken up several hours later, the sun streaming through the curtains and onto the bed. For a moment or two she didn't know where she was, and even had a thought that she was back at Shell Cottage the time before and that they'd only just left the Malfoys. Then the events of the past few hours came back to her and she gave a groan at how difficult everything had become. She was amazed and pleased that she didn't remember any dreams and didn't appear to have had any nightmares, which she'd thought might plague her.

Dressing in a comfortable shirt and jeans, Hermione made her way downstairs and looking at a clock in Bill and Fleur's sitting room, she saw it was three o'clock in the afternoon. She still felt very tired, and was sure that everyone would feel like that for a few days. Remembering where everything was in Shell Cottage's kitchen, she poured herself a glass of pumpkin juice and made some toast.

A while later, Hermione decided to take a walk around the Cottage, and found herself sitting down on the ground near to Dobby's grave, looking out to sea, a soft breeze ruffling her hair. _I so hope you're okay, Ginny, _she thought _I so hope Ron doesn't blurt something out yet._

She sat there, looking out to sea for a couple of hours, trying to think of nothing, but not able to stop her mind from going back to everything that had happened with the Time-Turner. Hermione suspected she was wearing a peculiar dazed expression, as she remembered all the intimate moments she had shared with Ginny. _We've been apart only hours, but I miss you, Gin, _she thought, _I miss you so much._

As early evening arrived and the tide came in, the breeze having a chilly bite to it now, Hermione turned to look at Dobby's grave, properly. "This really is a beautiful place," she said out loud, not sure if she was saying it for her own sake, or actually believed that Dobby could hear her. "The magical world has changed so much since we laid you to rest. I wish you were here to see it." With a flick of her wand she made a small arrangement of daisies and buttercups, to leave on Dobby's grave, before standing up and walking back to the Cottage.

After a small dinner, not having much appetite beyond some salad, Hermione spent the evening reading. She didn't read any books from her bag, but saw some interesting titles on Bill and Fleur's bookcase, on charms and other subjects. Once she began yawning at only 8.30pm, she decided to go to bed, and with more thoughts of Ginny not being with her, she eventually drifted off to sleep.

XXXXXXXXXX

Ginny thought she had only been asleep half an hour, when she was woken up by a knock on her door. She didn't answer on hearing it, hoping that whomsoever it was would think she was sound asleep and leave, but they knocked harder instead, and then the door opened a crack, before opening fully.

"Ginny?" said Fleur, as she carefully edged into the room. She hadn't wanted to barge in and had been very cautious.

Seeing Fleur walking into the room surprised Ginny, and she sat up straight away, wondering if something had happened, or if her parents were all right. "What is it? Is something wrong?" she asked worried.

"No, no, everything is fine," said Fleur. "I was sent to wake you, as your mum wants you to have some dinner."

Crookshanks stretched, looked from one woman to the other, before he jumped off the bed, walked past Fleur in the doorway and went off to wherever he'd decided to go, be that the kitchen or outside to worry some gnomes.

"Dinner?" Ginny asked. "What time is it?"

"It's 6.30, in the evening."

"I've been asleep _that _long?"

"Yes. Some of us have been awake a hour or two, but we wanted to leave you to rest, after everything you've been through," said Fleur, with a kind smile.

"_Everyone_ has been through a lot," said Ginny. "Am I the last to wake up?"

"Bill has gone to wake Ron, or at least to see if he'll come down for dinner. Harry has been up a couple of hours, as have Charlie and Percy." Fleur turned to leave again. "Anyway, dinner will be in twenty minutes."

"How's...how's George?" Ginny asked.

"He's...," Fleur said, then paused. "He's coping as well as he can. We'll all keep an eye on him. But we must remember to give him some space too, yes?"

Ginny nodded her agreement, feeling dreadful for George all over again. "I'll be down in a few minutes," she said to Fleur, who then left, closing the door.

_Half-six, _thought Ginny, _all that time and no nightmares? I wonder how Hermione is? I miss her...it's only hours since I saw her, but I miss her._

A short time later Ginny sat at the dinner table next to Harry, on one side, with George on the other. A few minutes after she sat down, her parents brought a couple of massive dishes of pasta bake to the table, and Bill appeared and took his seat next to Fleur, opposite Ginny. Behind him followed a reluctant moody-looking Ron, his hair sticking up and generally looking like a tramp. Ron looked at the table, then his eyes moved up to meet Ginny's. He looked as though he was on the verge of saying the f-word, before their mother stopped him.

"Ron!" Mrs. Weasley snapped. "Couldn't you even comb your hair?!"

"Sorry," said Ron, before taking a seat next to Charlie, a little down the table and the opposite side to Ginny. She heard him mutter, "I wasn't aware we had to dress up for dinner, here!" Charlie gave him a nudge with his elbow, and shook his head, trying to convey to his brother to shut up and behave.

Despite the few smiles and a little banter between Mr. Weasley and Charlie, even with some input from George, it was blatantly obvious that the atmosphere was thick with awkwardness, and it wasn't just because everyone knew that Ron and Ginny were hardly on speaking terms. Everyone knew that Fred was missing, and in trying to be normal and acting like it was something they accepted, it was even more obvious to them that he wasn't there.

Harry was genuinely pleasant to Ginny, and after dinner, which seemed to go on longer than usual, she decided to get some fresh evening air outside, and Harry followed her.

"Did you get much sleep, Harry?"

"Yeah, a few hours. You?"

"Hours of deep sleep," said Ginny. "I thought I'd hardly dropped off when Fleur came to wake me."

"Did you get any dreams?"

"No, none, thankfully. How about you?"

"Me neither," said Harry. "I'm so glad I won't have Voldemort in my dreams now. I mean, I know he might appear, but it won't be those weird connection dreams, of seeing his thoughts and actions anymore."

"Has Ron said much about anything?" asked Ginny, as they walked into the garden a bit more.

"No. He's just muttering a lot, as you saw," said Harry. "He knows where I am if he wants to talk, but he's got to sort out a lot of it himself."

"I'm sorry about...you know...everything," said Ginny. "Not only have you had to deal with what you have, and us, but now you're kind of stuck in the middle of all this Ron business."

"I suppose we should expect that it can't _all_ go smoothly," said Harry. "There has to be a price for everything we did, and a huge victory has to have some downsides."

"That's very philosophical of you?"

"Not really, but since Luna explained this theory she has on 'balance', it makes more and more sense."

"Luna, making sense?!" laughed Ginny.

Harry laughed too. "I know! Sometimes if you really listen to what she says, she does have a lot of valid answers."

_Harry _could _end up with Luna, _thought Ginny, _I'm not going to say that out loud, though. _"So all this aggro is the price we pay for success?"

"Essentially."

"When we spoke to Dumbledore," said Ginny, and seeing Harry raise his eyebrows questioningly, she quickly added "The Dumbledore in 1997, he mentioned something about a price to pay, but that it was worth it for the greater good we'd achieve."

"I believe it to be so," said Harry, as they both stood picking fluffy heads off long grasses, from the garden near to the house.

"Bringing you back, was worth all the other problems," said Ginny, seriously. "Giving you that chance, the chance Dumbledore said you should have had, if the Stone hadn't been damaged, it was worth all of it. You have to believe me, that despite what's happened with Hermione, I love you, Harry, and although I can't be with you, I'm...I'm so happy you're alive."

Harry felt emotional, and blinked a few times to try and stop any actual tears. "That means a lot, Ginny," he said sadly. "I don't think we were meant to be more. It's just a feeling I have now. I've considered that the reason I cast you aside so apparently easily...it wasn't easy, by the way...but I think it was because I didn't want you getting hurt, and it was more than loving you. I think it was the subconscious thought of you getting hurt, then us not even being together at the end of it, and that it was worse than you getting hurt had we meant to be together. Almost like, you getting hurt for nothing. Does that make sense?"

"Sort of," said Ginny. _I think he's been listening to Luna's type of thinking too much! _she thought, amused, as she just about understood what he meant. "The dreams I had during all that time-travelling, seemed to suggest that we weren't supposed to be together for anything long term. And that was before I even...before Hermione became an issue."

"Love is insane," said Harry.

Ginny gave a little laugh, then spontaneously put her arms around Harry and hugged him. "We're all insane!"

Harry hugged Ginny back, and was surprised to feel that once beyond the initial joy of holding Ginny, he had a definite sense that it was a 'best-friend' thing. Already they were both accepting the signals as friends and not potential lovers.

"I DON'T BLOODY BELIEVE YOU!?" a voice shouted, angrily.

Ginny and Harry broke apart from their hug, and turned to see Ron glaring at them. "What have I done now?" Ginny said with a groan.

"What's the problem, Ron?" asked Harry.

Ron stalked up to them. "What's the problem? WHAT'S THE PROBLEM? _She _is!" He pointed to his sister. "And you're no bloody better!"

"What?!" said Harry, a little stunned.

"You said you knew, you said you accepted it and everything was so wonderful for Ginny to be snogging and doing Merlin knows what else, with Hermione. And yet, you're taking her back?! I wouldn't give her house room!" Ron said, then turned his angry eyes onto Ginny. "First you take Hermione away from me and laugh in my face, then you dump her to go back to Harry, fucking up everyone's lives in the process!?"

"I haven't dumped Hermione!" said Ginny.

"I haven't got Ginny back," said Harry in an even, relatively calm voice.

"Oh, OH! I see!" said Ron. "You're just together when Hermione isn't around."

"What the hell are you talking about?" asked Ginny. "You saw me hug Harry, as a _friend! _There was nothing more to it than that."

"You wouldn't know the truth, if it hit you in the face!" said Ron, scathingly.

"Ron, she's telling the truth. It was just a hug, nothing more," said Harry.

Ron was breathing heavily, from his anger and frustration, and looked from Harry to Ginny, certain they were lying and hiding things from him. "I've had enough of this shit," he said. "I'm leaving, going, getting away from this crap." He stormed off back into the house.

"Leaving?" said Ginny. "Harry, you'd better try and find out what he means. He can't leave before the funeral, it will hurt Mum and Dad so much."

"I don't know if he'll talk to me, but I'll try," said Harry, resigned to trying to talk to Ron. Ginny followed a little behind.

Ron had already made his way up to his room, Harry in hot pursuit. As Ginny walked through the house too, her parents and brothers in the living room looked at her, expecting her to explain everything, but she walked on past to the stairs and up to her own room. Leaving her bedroom door open only a fraction, so she could hear any other goings on in the house, Ginny could make out Harry and Ron's voices from the floor above.

"Don't be a prat, Ron," said Harry.

"Me? _I'm _being a prat? Look at yourself, being all happy that your girlfriend's dumped you."

"I didn't say I was happy! And to be fair, I dumped her first, really. But you have to have perspective. Anyway, this isn't about me."

"It's always about you!" said Ron, scornfully. "If you hadn't bloody died, they would never have gone on their little trip and I'd still be with Hermione."

"You're blaming me for dying?"

"No...I don't know. I need to get away from here. I can't think with _her _looking at me everywhere I turn," said Ron.

"Ron, you can't leave. What about your parents? What about George?"

"What about them? They don't need me to hold their bloody hands!" said Ron, nearly shouting again. "They won't miss me while _you're_ here."

Ginny felt like crying, and could feel tears building. Everything was such a horrible mess and she was responsible for most of it. If Ron left, or even Harry, because he felt he was causing too much tension, it would be awful for everyone else. _But I don't regret falling for Hermione, _she thought, _love happens, it was never meant to be easy. _

"What's that supposed to mean?" asked Harry, raising his voice too.

"You, always getting the praise. The way Mum fawns over you, she might as well swap me with you. She was more worried about you _after_ you'd died, than she was about me standing next to her still breathing!"

Ginny then heard a lumping noise. "What did you do that for, you bastard?!" shouted Ron. Another thumping sound was heard.

"Listen to yourself, you twat!" said Harry. "This isn't about me. It's not about you, or Ginny or Hermione. I'm talking to you now, trying to get you to stay, when at this moment I wish you _would_ piss off, but I'm begging you to stay, because your family needs you."

"Bollocks do they!?"

"Do you want me to hit you again?" asked Harry. "They've lost a son. George has lost his twin brother. _You _have lost a brother. You need to be there for them, to share your grief with them. Do you understand me?"

"What's it to you, anyway?"

"You can think whatever you like about me, or have any stupid ideas and notions about me in that head of yours, BUT I love your family. You understand that? I love and care for your family and I don't want to see them suffer any more than they have to because you couldn't hold yourself together for a couple of days."

The voices dropped then, and Ginny heard a door slam shut, but no sounds on the stairs. She had a couple of tears down her cheeks, after hearing what Harry had said. It was then she heard a tap on her door.

"Who is it?"

"It's me, Bill."

Ginny wiped away her tears. "Come in."

"What's going on, Gin?" Bill asked, as he walked in and sat next to her on her bed. "We all heard some of the raised voices from upstairs. Tell me what's happened to cause all this anger from everyone?"

"I can't."

"You can't?"

"I'd like to, but I can't," Ginny said, wearily.

"You used to always talk to me," said Bill, getting hold of her hand. "You can still tell me anything, sis. You can trust me."

"I know I can. I just can't talk about it, yet. I'm not ready to, not with everything that's happened and the funeral tomorrow. There is one thing, though."

"And that is?" asked Bill.

"Can I go home with you and Fleur, tomorrow? I need to give Ron some space."

"Have you asked Mum?"

"Yes, I've mentioned it to her. There's so much I want to talk to Hermione about too," said Ginny, telling the truth, but hiding again the thoughts she had of holding Hermione and kissing her, as well as talking with her.

"If Mum agrees, then of course you can," said Bill. He stood up and placed a hand on his sister's shoulder. "Maybe away from here you'll feel able to talk to me?" he asked hopefully.

"Maybe," said Ginny, honestly. "Anyway, despite all that sleep I got earlier, I think I'm going to turn in for the night. Do you know more about tomorrow? I didn't like to ask, in case I upset Mum."

"Fred is being buried about six-hundred yards from the house, at the very edge of the Burrow's garden wall, on the south side. Plenty of sunshine there. There'll be a little marquee put up and we can pay our last respects as he...as he lies there...on top of the tomb, that's already been placed there this evening. Then it will be a bit like how Dumbledore's funeral ended."

"He'll, what...sort of disappear into the tomb?" asked Ginny.

"Yeah. Better than having to stare at a coffin being lowered into the ground," said Bill, staring off at one of Ginny's bedroom walls for a moment before carrying on. "Anyway, I had a look with Dad earlier, and as tomb's go it's...nice."

"I like the fact he'll be close to home," said Ginny. "One of the awful dreams I had, I visited his grave, and it was in a muggle-looking churchyard. So blunt and gloomy. Of course it didn't help that I also saw Harry's and Hermione's gravestones next to Fred's."

"Blimey, you really had crappy dreams, didn't you?"

"Unfortunately."

"Well, I think I'll turn in for the night myself," said Bill.

"Night, Bill."

"Hope you get some more sleep," said Bill, as he left and closed the door behind him.

_I almost felt I could tell him, _thought Ginny, slightly disturbed, _But he's Bill...my older brother!? Urgh! Hermione's the only one I need to talk to, or _want _to talk to. Tomorrow, the funeral, then I can leave...I can see Hermione. _

In a very short time, Ginny had got herself ready for bed and despite the confrontation with Ron earlier, the impending funeral and everything else on her mind, she found sleep quickly.

XXXXXXXXXX

Ginny had to keep thinking to herself, _it's not a dream, _as she found herself in the marquee the next day, with her brothers, parents, Fleur and Harry, standing around Fred as he laid peacefully in his coffin, on top of the tomb.

Once more Ginny had had a dreamless sleep, and was very grateful for it, knowing that had she been in 1943 or 1945 she would have probably experienced the night from hell. However, since she'd woken up, her pulse had been faster than normal and she felt nauseous, unable to eat more than a few mouthfuls of cornflakes for breakfast.

Her parents were amazing in the way that they were coping, and George too was much better than Ginny had anticipated. She only got to speak to Harry briefly on the stairs, as they both made their way upstairs to change before the funeral.

"Did you hit Ron last night?" she asked, almost whispering, guessing what the lumping sounds had been.

"Um...yes, sorry," said Harry. "I went for the body rather than the head. I didn't think your parents would want a black-eyed Ron today."

"Don't be sorry! I hope you knocked some sense into him," said Ginny.

"Well, I got him to stay for today, and to shut up yesterday, but he was muttering again this morning," said Harry, tiredly.

"Did he hit you back?"

"He tried to, but I've got good at ducking over the years, so he didn't really connect with anything," Harry said, with a smile.

"I'll be leaving with Bill and Fleur later and staying with them for a day or two," said Ginny.

"Really?"

"Yeah. Don't think it's _just_ because Hermione's there. I need to give Ron some space."

"That sounds like a good idea," said Harry and genuinely meaning it, he added, "Say 'hi' to Hermione for me."

And here they all stood, after a ceremonial official, the same wizard who had taken Dumbledore's funeral, had said some nice things and the usual comforting lines. The latter were sincerely meant, but being scripted for nearly every funeral the wizard presided over, made the words feel a little hollow. It was now time for them all to say their goodbyes to Fred, and then he could be laid to rest.

They each walked forward so they could say something to Fred, if they wanted to. Like in her dream, Ginny didn't have a clue what to say. "You're probably laughing at me for not knowing what to say to you," she said. Then she had other thoughts and found it easier and almost whispered to keep it private. "Hermione wanted to be here, but it's all a bit complicated and she thought it would be best to stay away. Come to think of it, you'd love to have a punch-up at your funeral, wouldn't you? I can't believe I'm standing here, saying goodbye. I'll always think of you and I'll always miss you." With tears down her cheeks, she stroked her late brother's cheek with her hand, tried to smile for him and stepped back.

Each of her family said something, some Ginny heard, others she didn't. Her parents seemed to just stare at Fred for minutes, in silence, holding onto each other, before placing a last kiss on the head of their son. Ron had stood as far away from Ginny as he could, and when his turn came he was silent and stared at Fred too, before cautiously reaching out with his hand to place it over Fred's, and then he finally mumbled something. Fleur and Harry went up too, and had their own moments with Fred, but it had been decided that George should be last.

George had been incredibly strong since his brother's shockingly recent death, but reaching these final proceedings, he clung onto their father for a moment, nearly shaking, with tears flowing freely. Yet, he managed to compose himself again, stood up straight and made no sound as he walked forward. Ginny heard him say to Fred, "Yeah, you're taking the piss out of me somewhere, aren't you Freddie? Crying over _you_!? I'd have liked to see you do better?!" He gave a little laugh. "I'll keep our business going strong...more profits for me now...shit, I'm going to miss you." He mumbled some other words, which Ginny didn't hear, then leaned over and kissed his brother's forehead, before stepping back to their parents.

The officiating wizard said a few more words and then he flicked his wand and lots of fireworks flew off from Fred's coffin and filled the marquee with colours and bangs of noise, before one last flower of explosive light flashed before their eyes and Fred was gone, leaving the rather impressive stone tomb, which covered his last resting place. The fireworks had been George's idea, and it was perfect.

_He's really gone, _thought Ginny, oddly feeling a bit more numb now than before. It was the finality of things, she supposed. After thanking the officiating wizard, her parents hugged her, and all her family shared embraces, as they slowly made their way back to the house. No one really felt like eating, but Mrs. Weasley had provided lots of buffet food, a result of trying to keep busy and occupied early that morning. Everyone felt they had to at least have one item to please her and make all her effort worthwhile.

As tired and emotionally drained as they all were, it didn't stop Ron from giving another glare at Ginny, when she found herself next to him at the table, while picking up a cucumber sandwich. She said nothing, cast her eyes down, and went to sit well away from him.

As the afternoon reached three o'clock, Ginny's parents, along with George, Bill, Charlie and Percy, had gone to look at Fred's tomb, now that the marquee had been taken away. She'd heard them talk of some shrubs and flowers they wanted to plant around it, to make it as colourful as possible.

"How are you?" asked Fleur, as she sat next to Ginny on one of the sofas.

"Tired. You?"

"Tired too."

"Are you going to be leaving soon?" asked Ginny, wanting nothing more than to get away and see Hermione again.

"Yes, soon, I think," replied Fleur. "I hear you'll be coming with us?"

Ginny turned to look at her. "Are...are you okay with that? I would understand if you didn't want me around. I haven't always been kind to you." She looked away.

"Sisters are not supposed to be kind to their brothers' girlfriends or wives," said Fleur. "I have to say, I was confused for ages, when I heard what you called me."

Feeling her cheeks grow hot with quite a bit of shame, Ginny could only say, "Oh, you heard about that?"

"'Phlegm', wasn't it?" Fleur actually gave a small giggle. "I was wondering for a long time why you thought I was Flemish, as I'm not from Belgium, and even then I couldn't understand why you didn't like Flemish people, until Bill explained what you were actually saying."

"Ahh," replied a very sheepish Ginny.

Fleur laid a hand on Ginny's arm. "It was amusing!" she said. "Yes, okay, a bit annoying, but as I said, sisters always disapprove of their older brother's love interests."

"I'm sorry," said Ginny, genuinely. "I really am."

"Nothing to be sorry for. And you're very welcome to stay with us."

"Thanks," said Ginny, relieved, before she lowered her voice. "So, are we going soon? I just feel I need to get away, and I don't like the thought of Hermione having been all by herself for this long."

"It doesn't seem very fair, after everything you both did, that she felt she had to stay away because you two and Ron can't seem to stand the sight of one another," said Fleur, in almost a whisper back, watching Ginny closely.

"It's _not_ fair. But I have to agree with Hermione, it's better to give Ron some space, if only for her and me to get some rest and lose the tension. I feel too tired to face much more of it."

"I meant what I said before," said Fleur, still in a whisper for Ginny's hearing only. "You can confide in me. If you have something troubling you, however big or small, I will help if I can, even if it's only to listen."

"I don't want to talk about anything," said Ginny, then thinking it sounded too harsh, she quickly added, "Thanks Fleur...but I need to think things through myself, before I can talk. Hermione's the same. It's all so ruddy difficult and for now I just want a bit of peace."

"I understand. But my offer always stands. I hope I can be a good sister to you, Ginny," said Fleur, patting Ginny's arm. She then stood up. "I'll find Bill and then perhaps we can go, okay?"

Ginny nodded, and as she watched Fleur go to find Bill, her eyes came across Ron, staring at her from across the room. She looked away, not wanting to meet his eyes.

However, Ron had got up and sat next to her. "So, you're going with Bill, are you? I wonder why?"

"To give you some space, if you must know," Ginny said.

"How nice of you," said Ron, flatly. "Of course, it wouldn't have something to do with the fact _Hermione_ is staying there?"

"Believe what you want to, I'm tired of trying to say anything to you," said Ginny, making to get up and go outside.

Ron grabbed her arm, however, and nearly whispering, he said, "Why couldn't you be happy with Harry? Why did you have to take _her_?"

"It wasn't like that, it...it just happened."

"Was it you, or was it her?" he asked, his eyes boring into Ginny's.

"What do you mean?"

At this point Harry had looked up from the Daily Prophet, which he was reading at the other side of the room, and wondered if he might have to rescue Ginny soon, or even hit Ron again.

"I mean, did she seduce you? Nah...you seduced her! I know it!" said Ron.

"Seduce? No one seduced anyone," said Ginny, trying to move her arm out of his grip.

"Oh and it all just happened, like that?" Ron clicked his fingers.

"I don't want to talk about it," said Ginny. "Let go of me!" She pulled her arm free.

"Go on then, piss off!" said Ron, his voice raised enough for anyone to hear now.

"Ron!" said Harry. "We talked about this."

"_You _talked about it, _I_ didn't it," said Ron.

Bill and Fleur with Percy, Charlie and George, walked in from outside, with Mr. and Mrs. Weasley behind them. Bill nodded to Ginny and she was about to walk over to them.

"Yeah, that's right, sod off, Ginny!" said Ron, standing up and walking in the direction of the stairs, before turning and adding, "Pity Bellatrix didn't succeed! Pity it wasn't you in that bloody tomb instead of Fred!"

"RON!" said Mrs. Weasley, putting her hand to her mouth. Ron stormed off up the stairs, leaving a room of stunned Weasleys and Harry.

"Just what is going on here?" said Mrs. Weasley. "I know you've got some issues with each other, but this is ridiculous. Ginny, you're going to tell me what it is and now!"

"I can't, Mum," said Ginny, wearily. "Not yet, it's...it's not that simple."

"Your brother shouts those kind of insults at you and you won't tell me what it's about?" her mother asked.

"Please, Mum, I don't want to talk about it, now. I'm just so tired," said Ginny. "Besides, it's not all Ron's fault, he has his reasons, as do I. Like I said, it's difficult and complicated...please give me some time."

"Mum," said Bill. "We're going back to Shell Cottage, now. I think Ginny needs some space, as does Ron. She and Hermione have been through things none of us can hardly imagine. I think they need some time to adjust again and be able to talk with each other. They'll be with us, we'll look out for them both."

Mrs. Weasley nodded, still in a slightly stunned state from hearing what Ron had said. "Just you make sure you _do_ look after them," she said.

Bill hugged his parents and brothers, as did Fleur. Ginny did the same and when she reached Charlie he said to her, "I'm probably going back to Romania in a day or two, but if you ever need to talk, send me an owl and I'll meet you for a chat, okay?"

"Thanks," said Ginny, taken aback. She was used to offers of advice from Bill, but Charlie offering had been a surprise. _Maybe he's finally grown up, _she thought. "Have a safe trip, and write more often to Mum and Dad," she told him. Percy gave her a very awkward sort of hug, but at least his heart was in the right place, even if it was like embracing a robot.

Ginny then walked back and hugged Harry. "I'm sorry to be leaving you with Ron," she whispered, for his ears only. "I hope things improve."

"I'll go up in a minute and see how things are with him," said Harry.

With the family embraces done, Ginny walked outside with Bill and Fleur and let Fleur Side-Along Apparate her to Shell Cottage. Ginny was so desperate to leave the Burrow, that she had momentarily forgotten she would be seeing Hermione now. And then she had to think carefully, knowing she couldn't kiss her straight away. _At least I can hug her, though, _she thought.


	66. Survival

**A/N: I confess that in the previous chapter I did feel a bit tearful over Fred's funeral as I wrote it, and again when I looked back over it. Writing for myself it's interesting to see what I can provoke from myself. And then sharing it here, it's interesting how people are either affected or not affected by it. :)**

66: Survival

Hermione discovered that she had slept solid until 9am the next morning. Immediately her thoughts had gone to the Burrow and how they would be feeling, saying their last goodbyes to Fred. She really hoped Ginny would be able to see her soon.

Not wanting to spend all the day moping around the house, Hermione thought she would take a walk along the nearby beach in the afternoon. Packing a bottle of water and an apple into her beaded bag, she made her way from Shell Cottage down to the beach.

The sea was lapping in gently, making small lines of frothy white seawater onto the sand. Hermione looked out to sea for a long time, watching some of the sea birds swooping and rising as they rode the thermals, or were looking for potential food.

Looking both east and west of her along the beach, Hermione saw a small rocky outcrop in the easterly direction, and wondering if there was any interesting marine life clinging onto it, or making it's home in the little natural rock pools made when the tide went out there, she walked towards it.

Having a wand meant Hermione didn't have to worry about getting a damp backside from sitting on wet rocks. She found a reasonably comfortable place to sit and gently moved and turned over some pebbles and larger stones in the small three-feet diameter pool near to her. She found a couple of shrimp-like creatures and a small crab. Taking care not to get nipped by its claws, Hermione picked up the little crab to look at. It flailed its legs and kept trying to snap at her.

"You haven't a clue what's been happening, have you?" Hermione said out loud. "It doesn't make any difference to you." Staring at the creature, she almost envied its ignorance, and its simple life. _Hmm, it still has to fight for survival, _she thought, _so maybe its life isn't so different, after all. _"What am I doing?" she laughed. "I'm talking to a crab?!" She placed the creature back into the rock pool and looked for anything else she could see, before moving on to another pool, greatly enjoying the fresh sea air.

XXXXXXXXXX

Bill and Fleur walked into Shell Cottage, with Ginny right behind them. The latter despite so recently feeling terrible thanks to Ron, was now feeling a fluttery, nervous feeling, as she contemplated seeing Hermione again.

"It's only us, Hermione!" called out Bill. There was no answer. "Hermione?" he called again.

Fleur touched her husband's arm. "Maybe she's asleep, all of our sleeping patterns have been interfered with. I'll take a look."

The Frenchwoman went upstairs, Ginny going with her to the spare bedroom. Knocking on the door, Fleur then opened it and went in, to find the room empty. "She _did_ arrive here, didn't she?" asked Fleur.

Ginny felt a moment of worry, wondering if Hermione had decided to take a room at The Leaky Cauldron or somewhere else, after all. She walked into the room, then saw a neatly folded T'Shirt and familiar pyjama bottoms on the chair in there.

"She's here," said Ginny, pointing to the clothes. "Just not in the house, it would seem."

"If she's not in the garden, I expect she might be down on the beach," Fleur wondered.

"I'll go and find her," said Ginny, but realized she'd said it perhaps too eagerly and quickly. Looking at her sister-in-law, it didn't appear that Fleur had noticed anything odd about it. _Bollocks, _thought Ginny, _don't say I'm going all paranoid...again!?_

"Did you find her?" asked Bill, when the girls walked back downstairs.

"No, but she's been here," replied Fleur. "Ginny's going to go and find her. We think she might have taken a walk."

"When you find her, don't stay out too long, will you?"

"Yes, _Dad_," said Ginny to her brother, with a smile.

"I'm supposed to be looking out for you, and if you both either drown or get ill or something, then...then I'm in trouble," said Bill.

"Aww," cooed Fleur. "Is someone scared of his mummy?"

"You'll get it too if something happens to them," he said, then snorted with laughted when he saw the expressions change on his wife's face.

"Ginny, you'll do as you're told, won't you?" asked Fleur, but she was still smiling with amusement.

"Yeah, we'll be back soon," said Ginny, as she left Shell Cottage, almost shaking her head at her completely insane brother and sister-in-law. _I'm so glad Ron isn't here, _she thought. She could already feel herself relax more.

Ginny walked down to the beach, inhaling the salty sea air, and loving the calming sound of the sea lapping near her feet. She looked up and down the beach, and couldn't see any sign of anyone. Raising her hand to shield her eyes and concentrate her vision, she looked again, and it was just when she was about to turn the other way, that she saw movement. A fair walk away on a natural groyne of rocks, she saw someone lean over, then sit up again. She wasn't sure if it was Hermione, but thought it was as good a place to start, even if it only turned out to be a muggle.

Each step along the sand brought more definition to the person Ginny was aiming for, and after a few more paces, she could see that it was indeed Hermione. Every fibre of Ginny wanted to run to her lover, but she was so tired and also paranoid about whether two pairs of eyes in Shell Cottage were looking out, so she carried on walking at the same pace. An observer at the Cottage wouldn't see anything much from there, but if they saw Ginny running, it would raise questions, not of a romantic nature but of wondering if there was any trouble, to make Ginny run.

_She hasn't seen me yet, _thought Ginny, as she approached Hermione. _Why is she poking around in a puddle, anyway? _

Hermione hadn't looked up and had no idea that Ginny was so near. She had picked up a medium-sized crab and was looking at it from all angles.

"Making new friends?" asked Ginny.

Hermione jumped, and dropped the crab as she spun around to the voice. "Ginny?!"

"Hello," was all Ginny could add; she was entranced by Hermione, and how much she had missed her.

Walking the couple of steps over to the redhead, Hermione wrapped her arms around her and hugged her. "It's so good to see you. I hoped I'd see you today, but I didn't know."

The two women broke from their hug, and looked at each other. Hermione was taken by how tired Ginny looked and reached forward with her hand and cupped a freckled cheek. "How are you? I've thought about you so much. I've thought about you all."

Ginny leaned her face against Hermione's hand, got hold of it, turned her face and kissed the palm. "It's been tough, very tough. Today was just...bad."

"The funeral, you mean?" asked Hermione, gently, a feeling like little sparks going up her arm after Ginny had kissed her hand.

"To be honest the funeral was fine. Very hard and very emotional, but it was bearable. Ron on the other hand...," Ginny tailed off, closing her eyes.

"He's still being difficult?" said Hermione.

"Yes. 'Difficult' being a huge understatement. I tried to avoid him, not say anything and keep out of his way, but he kept finding me and saying stuff. Then he'd start shouting and being nasty. My parents want me to talk to them. Bill and Fleur want me to talk to them. Only with Mum, she nearly made me tell her everything before she'd let me leave."

"I'm so sorry. I wish I could have been there. But I think it would have been even worse had I been."

"I think it would've been, although it can't get much worse than Ron saying...," Ginny stopped. The phrase hadn't bothered her at the Burrow, as she'd only thought of how George would have taken it, and that her parents really didn't need to hear it either. Now, however, it disturbed her.

"What did he say?" asked Hermione.

Ginny sighed. "That it was a pity that Bellatrix hadn't succeeded and he wished it was me in that tomb instead of Fred. And that was just as Mum and Dad walked back in to hear it."

Hermione put a hand to her mouth. "Ron said that?! That's bloody awful!"

"Yeah, well that's Ron at the moment," said Ginny. "Harry had to hit him last night, because Ron was going to leave and not be there for the funeral. Of course he didn't like me coming here with Bill either. Yet, he can hardly stand the sight of me, so I thought he'd be pleased...but of course, he knows you're here. What a bloody mess!"

"I'm so sorry," said Hermione. "Harry hitting him doesn't seem to have taken much effect. I'm sorry that everything is so bad. Maybe I should have stayed somewhere else so Ron couldn't accuse you of going off to see me? Perhaps I should still go and stay somewhere else, anyway?"

Ginny got hold of Hermione's hand. "Don't leave. Please don't leave," she said, tiredly. "I only got through today, knowing I'd be seeing you again. I don't care what Ron says or what he thinks, I need to be near you. I...I need _you_, Hermione."

Feeling her eyes fill with tears to see Ginny so drained and to hear what she'd had to go through with Ron, Hermione wrapped her arms around the redhead again. Ginny gave an exhausted sigh as Hermione held her tight. "Okay, I'm not going anywhere. I'm staying, all right?" She felt Ginny nod against her shoulder. "Let's get back to the house. You're tired, mentally and physically."

"I've felt strong for so long," said Ginny, as they began to walk back along the beach. "I've cried, of course I have, but I can't explain it other than saying...when I thought you might be leaving just then, I felt myself almost collapse. It was like I couldn't take anymore...which is bloody pathetic of me!"

"It's not pathetic!" said Hermione, firmly. "You've been through so much, partly caused by me, but you need some rest. Some peace and quiet and some proper rest. I've needed it too."

Ginny nodded as they walked arm in arm back towards Shell Cottage. "You're not the cause, Hermione. We _both_ are. But I don't regret a moment of it. I'll never regret loving you."

Stopping, Hermione looked into Ginny's face, then smiled. "You're the best thing that's happened to me," she said, and lowering her voice further she added, "And I can't wait until I can kiss you again." Ginny gave her an almost bashful smile back. Hermione thought for a moment, before asking, "So Ron hasn't actually said anything obvious about us?"

"Not so far. I think you were right before, that he might be a bit embarrassed about it all. When he's confronted me about us being together, he's not been in the hearing of anyone else, except Harry. But my other brothers aren't idiots, and there's no telling what Ron might be saying when we're not there which might give them hints." Ginny gave another tired sigh. "I'm sure we'd know if he'd said something more. At the moment everyone thinks he hates us for leaving him behind and probably not telling him about bringing Harry back, or that necklace business."

"Well, if it happens, it happens, we'll just have to deal with it when it does. For now, we can only hope that Ron's embarrassment factor is giving us a bit more time," said Hermione. "How's your bruising? Did you need to use anything on it?"

"All gone and healed," said Ginny, as she told Hermione about Crookshanks reminding her about it, that she'd used some dittany and that when she'd got dressed that morning there was no sign of any injury. The brunette was pleased to hear that her cat was perfectly fine and had been a comfort to Ginny. They walked in through the back door of Shell Cottage. Bill and Fleur were sorting through and reading papers of some kind at the kitchen table, and looked up when they entered.

"Everything okay, Hermione?" asked Bill.

"Yes. Thank you both for letting me stay here. I would have gone to The Leaky Cauldron, but it's been nice to stay here."

"You're welcome to stay as long as you like," said Bill.

"Now, sleeping arrangements," said Fleur, making both Ginny and Hermione feel a jumpy, nervous tension in their stomachs. "Are you okay to share the double bed in the spare room, or does one of you want a bed made up on the floor? Or even the bed separated into two?"

Ginny was relieved when Hermione answered. "Well, I was fine sharing when I was here before, and Ginny and I have had to share when we were travelling, so I'm happy to share. Less work for you too."

The whole time Hermione spoke, Ginny was thinking and silently telling herself, _Don't blush, don't swallow obviously, do NOT blush! _"Yeah, I'm fine with it," said Ginny, in an almost too deliberately casual way.

"That's all settled, then," said Fleur smiling, apparently oblivious to the two women in front of her, who were feeling mildly awkward and guilty.

The rest of the afternoon and into the evening, the four of them talked. All were exhausted, but they enjoyed chatting together. Sometimes they touched onto Fred's funeral, talking about it seeming to help, and more often Bill and Fleur were interested in the things Hermione and Ginny had seen back in time. They talked about most of the things that the two young women had had to do, with an interest in the history and what was going on around them, back in time. Bill and Fleur wanted to look at the necklace which had saved Ginny, so she retrieved it from her own enchanted bag.

"It's beautiful," said Fleur, as she examined the hare pendant. "Beautiful and useful."

Oddly, Hermione was still wearing the ring, she hadn't even realized it until Bill and Fleur had asked about the necklace. Ginny was equally surprised to see it on Hermione's finger, too. Hermione explained to them about Elizabeth Woodville, even though she wasn't convinced the ring had anything to do with the muggle queen, and it certainly didn't seem to have any magical properties. It was as Bill handed the ring back, that Hermione made a decision, and placing her hand into her beaded bag she pulled out the silver dagger.

"That's impressive!" said Bill.

"I'm going to give it to you," said Hermione. "I think if anyone should have it, it should be you and Fleur."

"Well...um...thanks," said Bill, a little confused, as Hermione handed him the dagger. He drew the blade from the scabbard. "Nice blade."

"It's solid silver," said Hermione.

"It _is_?" Bill looked at her.

Hermione sighed, hoping Ginny would understand why she was doing what she was, and knowing that she would have it explained later. "It's used to kill werewolves."

"Oh," said Fleur. "I see."

"I don't...not really," said Bill, looking at the blade and then back to Hermione.

"You've been marked," said Hermione. "I've read that sometimes that can make a person more of a target for werewolves to find them."

"And you think they're after me?" Bill gave a little laugh. "I'll be fine."

"I know. But it doesn't hurt to have a little something extra, does it?" said Hermione. "And also, it's something that should only be owned by a responsible person who understands things. The people we've met think werewolves should be put down, whether they're changed or not. Imagine someone having owned that, sticking it into Lupin?! With you and Fleur owning it, it might be useful, but it will also be safe."

Bill looked back at the dagger, unable to find a reply, but his wife found some words instead. "Thank you, Hermione. I mean it. It's incredibly thoughtful and I'm honoured that you trust us with this. Even if my husband doesn't understand the...the connotations..._I _do. Thank you."

Hermione turned briefly to look at Ginny and found the red-haired girl nodding her head in agreement. _Which means she understands and agrees, _she thought, _or is at least comfortable with it. I will defiintely explain it to her later._

"The thing you're all forgetting here," said Bill, trying to explain why he wasn't as fast to catch on to the use of the dagger. "It's a bit of a muggle myth that silver kills werewolves. I'm not saying this dagger is completely useless, but I'm not sure the silver blade adds anything more to it for the purpose."

Hermione began to remember some of the things she'd read in books at Hogwarts and how she'd learned about Lupin's secret. _I read how to recognize them and how a person becomes a werewolf, their characteristics and behaviour, _she thought, _beyond an interest in the potions to aid the condition, I didn't read much more about how a person would kill one...because I never envisaged that I would ever kill one._

"Dumbledore looked at all our purchases," said Ginny. "He never said the dagger wasn't what we were told it was. I'm sure he would have poo-pooed it, if it wasn't true? Even Hepzibah Smith said something about silver and werewolves."

"That's true," said Hermione. "Dumbledore never said it couldn't be used. Maybe the gemstones and silver have been crafted differently. I know some ancient muggle myths used to claim that blacksmiths were nearly like wizards, because of their ability to make metal from rock and bend it to their will. Perhaps it was magically forged? It's not goblin-made like Godric Gryffindor's sword, but it might still have properties an ordinary dagger doesn't."

"Even if it doesn't," said Bill, thinking over everything his sister and Hermione had said. "If you stick a blade like this into any living creature, you're going to do damage. Perhaps the fact silver is softer than steel, means you can inflict more injury, as it might not slide out as easily as it slides in...so to speak."

"Eww," said Ginny, pulling a face, imagining the dagger being plunged into a werewolf, hitting bone, bending the blade and struggling to pull the thing out again. "I really don't want to use that thing myself. I'm not squeamish, but for some reason I'm getting visions of tearing flesh and...urgh!"

"Hopefully it will never have to be used," said Fleur. "But it's nice to have ownership of such an item. We'll keep it safe."

At around nine o'clock in the evening, they all began to try and suppress yawns and Ginny and Hermione said their goodnights and went upstairs, both taking minimal time in the bathroom getting ready for bed. As Ginny crossed the landing, from the bathroom to the spare room, Fleur called up the stairs. "If you need an extra blanket or pillows, just shout."

"Thanks, Fleur. Night," said Ginny, as she walked back into the bedroom to see Hermione already under the covers. Ginny closed the bedroom door and for a moment she just looked at Hermione. "I've really missed you," she said. "It seems ages since we were together."

Pushing back the covers on the vacant side of the bed, Hermione smiled and said, "Well, don't just stand there looking, you _can _get into bed, you know?!" Giving a small laugh, Ginny got into bed.

"I know you're incredibly tired," said Hermione, and with a nearly shy look, she added, "But can I kiss you, now?"

Ginny answered by leaning over Hermione; she looked into her eyes and raised a hand to stroke the brunette's cheek. "Yes," she said, smiling, before lowering her head and connecting lips with the woman she loved.

Their kiss was gentle, lips caressing lips, everything tender and sensual. Hermione wrapped an arm around Ginny's neck, as she pushed her tongue forwards to meet the redhead's. The kiss seemed to last ages, as if in slow motion. It wasn't about a frantic need, just a reconnection and confirmation of their love again.

As their embrace was reaching a natural end, Hermione felt something drip onto her face and roll down her cheek. Breaking apart, she looked up to Ginny and saw she was crying. "My love?" Hermione said, pressing her lips briefly to Ginny's again. "Come here." She moved them so that she held Ginny to her, tucking the girl's head against her shoulder and neck. Ginny didn't say anything for a while, and Hermione just stroked her hair, pressing the occasional kiss to her forehead.

"I'm so happy to be with you," Ginny finally said. "But I feel so...so sad too, about everything. And it makes me angry that I'm being such a wet rag about it now!"

"Of course you're sad," replied Hermione. "And you are NOT a wet rag! You've had to go through so much today, and that's on top of everything else. I think you're exhausted too, on so many levels."

"I know they're okay, I know it...but I'm worried about George. I'm so worried about Mum and Dad," Ginny said sniffling. "How will they cope? How _are _they coping?"

"I can't answer that, because only they know that. Your family have so much love for each other, you'll all get through this."

"That's what Harry said."

"Well, if two of us have said it, then it must be true," said Hermione, as cheerfully as she could, before adding, "It will take some time, Gin. It's all so fresh and raw for your family."

"Then there's Ron. I don't think he'll ever be the same again, certainly not around us. And Mum will probably hate me for it all, when she finds out."

"You don't know that," said Hermione. "Even when she finds out, she wouldn't stay angry at you forever. You're her only daughter...aside from the fact she loves all of you so much. Your parents have taken Percy back gladly too. No, your mum's more likely to hex _me_ for life."

"Mum loves you," said Ginny.

"It's not the same, though. And I don't have Harry's 'Chosen One' card to play and be loved for _whatever_ I do. It will be hard for her not to see it as my fault. I've ruined Ron's life for the moment and split up you and Harry...the 'Chosen One'!"

"You didn't split us up," said Ginny. "He broke it up with me, at least twice, although neither of us seemed to acknowledge it one way or another. He's also been bloody accepting of us, even if he claims he's had some time to adjust because of the dream thing. Anyway, whatever the case, _you _can't take the blame for that!"

"I'm not sure everyone will see it that way."

They were silent for a little while, Hermione enjoying having Ginny in her arms and the redhead equally enjoying the closeness. They had been there for nearly an hour, between talking and silence. A couple of times Ginny shed silent tears, when she thought about the events of the day again, of saying goodbye to Fred, and Hermione continued to hold her, lightly kissing away any tears.

"Bugger," said Ginny, breaking the silence once more.

"What's wrong?"

"I've got a sodding headache now."

"I've still got that headache potion in my bag," said Hermione, as she moved to retrieve the bottle and a spoon from her beaded bag. "Have two spoons, then perhaps you can get some quality sleep too."

"I think I'll actually agree on that," replied Ginny, as she measured out and downed two spoonfuls of the horrid-tasting potion. She was about to settle down again, when Hermione moved. "Something wrong?"

"I need the loo now," said Hermione with a little laugh. "I'll be back in a tick."

Hermione went across the landing, found the bathroom vacant and used it. As she opened the door to walk back to the spare room, she found Fleur waiting for her outside the bathroom. "It's free now," Hermione smiled, as she was about to head back across the landing.

"I wanted to thank you," Fleur whispered, which stopped Hermione in her tracks.

"What for?"

"The dagger. I know another reason you gave it to us, even if Bill doesn't," said the Frenchwoman. "You also thought that if we owned it, then it was one less of those implements for someone to attack Bill with."

"I...I know he's not a werewolf, Fleur, believe me..."

"I know you know that. But you did mean that too, didn't you?"

Hermione sighed. "Yes. I just hated the thought that someone in these days of rounding up Voldemort's followers, became over zealous thinking he'd been 'turned' and...and...well, you understand."

"I do," said Fleur. "Thank you," she said again, then hugged Hermione. As she pulled back she whispered. "How's Ginny?"

"She's got a headache at the moment, but she's had some potion, so I think she'll be fine."

"I mean, how is she, regarding today?"

"Upset and exhausted," confided Hermione.

"You've been through so much together. You're probably the best person for her to have around, right now. Take care of her," said Fleur, as she turned and made her way back to her and Bill's room.

For a moment Hermione had been rooted to the spot, feeling a whole mixture of emotions. She felt affection for Fleur, glad that she understood the seriousness behind the dagger, touched by her concern for Ginny, then blushing embarrassment at how self-conscious she'd felt when Fleur told her she was the 'best person' to be around Ginny and to 'take care' of her. Shaking her head, she walked back to the spare bedroom and got back into bed.

"What did Fleur want?" asked Ginny. "I heard whispering."

"She wanted to thank me for the dagger."

"I understood most of why you gave it to them, and I totally agreed with it, but did you mean more?"

Hermione then remembered that she'd meant to tell Ginny all about it anyway, so explained it to her and what Fleur had correctly guessed. "I wish I'd had the time to ask you about it, before I handed it over. I'm sorry I just did that and didn't tell you about my intentions."

Ginny raised herself up and placed a kiss on Hermione's lips. "You were thinking of Bill and Fleur, and it was completely the right choice. There's nothing to be sorry for."

Pressing a sweet kiss of her own to Ginny's lips, Hermione said. "I think we could both do with some sleep, especially you. Are you comfortable?"

"Yes, very," said Ginny, snuggling against Hermione.

"Night. I love you."

"Love you too, Hermione."

It had seemed like an eternity since she had dreamed anything, and wondering if it was the headache potion adding to things, Ginny found herself dreaming..._zzzzzzz_

She was at the Burrow and walking through the kitchen, which was empty, and so she turned to walk out of the door. Initially, Ginny couldn't see anyone outside the door either. _Where is everyone? _she thought.

Ginny walked out into the garden at one side of the house, hoping to see someone standing on the lawn, or even one of her family de-gnoming. But there wasn't anyone to be seen at that side of the house. She walked back, and tried the other side of the house. As she rounded the corner and looked ahead, Ginny saw several of her family standing together, a few hundred yards away. _Crap, _she thought, knowingly, _they're standing at Fred's tomb. I can't avoid it, I'm no doubt going to end up walking there anyway, so I might as well accept it. _

As she suspected, her dream-self began walking towards her family. Approaching the group, she could see _all_ of her family were there; her parents, Bill, Charlie, George, Ron, Percy and Fleur. Then she looked at her late brother's tomb and saw that the top slab had been moved off.

"What's happened?" Ginny asked, wondering if somehow someone had vandalized it.

"Ah, you're here, finally!?" said her father, noticing his daughter.

"So, what's happened?" Ginny asked again.

"We didn't know if you'd be here today, what with your busy life and everything. But we're glad you are," said George.

"Busy life?" asked Ginny, feeling confused.

"You and Hermione," said Percy. "Not so much time for your family."

"I think we could try it, now," said Ron. "Rather than just _thinking _about it and going through the motions, I'm all for trying the practical. We've got it all ready and everything."

"Everyone in agreement?" asked George. Ginny heard most of her family mutter a 'yes'.

"What's happening?" asked Ginny, which seemed like the umpteenth time she'd asked that.

"No one told her? Whoops!" said Charlie, wearing a smirk.

"It isn't funny, Charlie," said Bill, his face serious. "This is a sure way to Azkaban!"

"You agreed to it, you _and_ Fleur?!" said Charlie in reply.

"Maybe I never thought it'd be put into practice. Maybe I just consented to make you all feel better," said Bill.

"_I_ never consented to _this_," said Fleur, her eyes hard. "And I don't now. I can't be a part of it." She turned and walked away.

"Sod off back to France, then!" said Ron. Fleur carried on walking and didn't look back.

"How dare you speak to my wife like that, you little shit!" said Bill. "I want nothing to do with this or any of you here." And with that, Bill walked off in the direction Fleur had gone.

"Would someone please explain what's happening here?" asked a frustrated and baffled Ginny.

"You'll see," said Ron. "We all ought to get closer to the tomb, you too Ginny." He beckoned to her as he stood right next to the tomb.

_What the hell is going on? _thought Ginny, as her dream-self went over to Ron.

"That's it, you stand there. Mum, Dad, you can get a bit closer," said Ron. "Come on, George."

"What's going on?" Ginny asked. _Why don't I shut up? _she thought as she dreamed. _I'm not getting any answers by asking, yet._

"We've found a way," said George.

"A way? A way for what?" she asked. _Wow, I'm finally going to be told, _she thought.

"A way to bring back Fred," said Ron.

"No. NO! That's not possible?!" Ginny said, looking from brother to brother.

"You brought Harry back?!" said George.

"That was different," she said.

"I don't see how? Anyway, we're going to try," said Ron, resolutely. "Hurry up, George," he said. "Get your bit done, will you?!"

Ginny didn't see George do anything in particular, but there was a sudden sound of little explosions and she saw small fireworks coming from Fred's tomb, similar to his funeral. Then everything went eerily silent and after a moment or two, George leaned over the tomb and peered in.

"Did it work?" asked an anxious Molly Weasley.

"Will you bloody get up, Fred?" called George. "We haven't got all day!"

Ginny was stunned to see Fred pop his head up from the tomb; a perfectly normal-looking Fred, grinning and taking the hand offered to him by his twin brother, to climb out of his tomb. _Fred? _she thought, _Fred's alive!_

"I was just enjoying the view for the last time," said Fred. "Not every day you get to appreciate the inside of your own grave!"

"Freddie?! My son, you're back!" said their tearful mother, going over to him and wrapping her arms around him.

"Yeah, yeah, we all love the Fredster!" said George, grinning. "Ron it's time you did your bit, or he won't be staying long!"

"Right," said Ron, turning to his sister. "Ginny, I'm sorry...actually, I'm not." He gave a strange smirk and flicked his wand and Ginny felt a bang on her head, making her whole skull ache.

_Bugger! My head is killing me! I thought that potion would have worked by now, _Ginny thought, as she felt the pounding pain. She couldn't see any of her dream, only hear muffled sounds. Her chest and stomach felt tight, as though she were bound by rope. She felt dizzy and wasn't sure whether she was standing up or lying down, or even if she'd woken up. Then her dream-self was able to open her eyes and see in the dream again.

It was clear to Ginny that she was lying down, with a feeling like a pillow under her head, and as she looked up she saw brown walls around her, and a little further up it looked like stone, and an oblong of blue sky above. _Don't say I'm..., _she thought, _I'm in Fred's tomb! _It was then she realized she was lying in his lidless coffin.

The thoughts had cut through her mind, making her head ache even more. Then several faces looked over the top of the stone walls and peered down at her. Her mother looked down with tears in her eyes, but she had an arm around the newly breathing Fred. Her father looked down at her blankly.

"What are you doing?!" Ginny shouted up at them, as she realized her body was indeed bound with rope, her hands clamped to her sides.

Ron leaned right over the edge of the tomb, stared into her eyes and said in a calm, even voice, "Remember when I said I wished you were in this tomb instead of Fred? Well, now everyone knows what you are, they all agreed with me. And George and me found a way to bring Fred back. Only, we needed a swap."

"You're...you're going to kill me?" Ginny felt panic grip her body. She looked to her parents' faces. "Mum, Dad you can't?!"

"We can, dear," said her mother. "We thought long and hard about it. You've become nothing but trouble for us. At least Fred has the business with George and has something worth living for. Where as you, my girl...I'm sorry. We're so disappointed in you and quite frankly incredibly embarrassed by you.'"

"This is a joke!" Ginny said. "You're just trying to scare me. Come on, let me out, you've punished me enough."

It was then Ginny saw Ron flick his wand and she felt something land on her. Raising her head up slightly, she saw a small pile of earth over her legs. _Nooo, _she thought, _they're not really going to..._

Ginny looked up again and saw her parents and brothers flick their wands, and felt thump upon thump of earth land on her. A heap of earth landed on her face and she tried to shake her head to move it. Her arms were still bound to her body with the ropes and she couldn't move. She could feel the weight on her body, as the earth piled up; she could no longer see, and was having trouble keeping her mouth free.

"NOOOOOO!" she managed to scream. "NOOOOOOOOO!"

Then her face was completely covered, her head hurt worse than ever, and she couldn't breathe, only cough and choke..._zzzzzzz_

As she woke up Ginny was almost choking for real. She was aware that she could sit up and move her arms and tried reaching out with them, relieved that she could. Then she felt something, or someone wrap around her and hold her. Breathing hard, still coughing, she finally opened her heavy eyelids and saw that she was in the spare room at Shell Cottage and that meant she was being held by Hermione.

"I'm alive," Ginny whispered. But, all the dream came crashing back to her. She remembered her family burying her alive, swapping her for Fred, a very alive Fred. "I'm alive, but he's gone, Fred's really gone." And with that she broke down into deep wracking sobs, clinging onto Hermione tightly.

"I've got you, it's okay," said Hermione, as she held Ginny to her, trying to comfort her. "You're safe." She'd witnessed many of the after effects of Ginny's dreams, but she had never seen her as bad as this, nor had so much trouble in trying to wake her. Hermione had hoped that now they were back in their proper timeline that the worst of the dreams had been left behind, but obviously that wasn't the case. It wasn't unexpected in some ways, when she thought of the past couple of days that Ginny had had to endure, but she hated to see her like this, and hoped she could help her.

Hermione was aware that Ginny was occasionally muttering, 'I'm alive' and could only imagine that her dream had been a near-death type of experience. Not unexpectedly she heard her say 'Fred' a couple more times too. She held onto the redhead firmly, letting her know she was very much alive and not alone and kept saying soothing things, so Ginny knew it was true and she wasn't still stuck in a nightmare.

After a short time, the door to the bedroom opened and Fleur walked in. Hermione had been aware of the door opening and had looked around and inclined her head to acknowledge the blonde woman.

Fleur put a hand to her mouth, as she saw Ginny in such distress. "Is there anything I can do?" she asked Hermione softly.

"Thanks Fleur, but we'll be okay," replied Hermione. "It's a nightmare thing, I'm used to this. We'll be fine," she said, still holding Ginny tightly; the red-haired girl was already breathing easier but still clinging on for dear life.

Putting a hand on Hermione's shoulder, Fleur said, "If you need anything, anything at all, just ask." When the brunette nodded, Fleur walked back out of the room, closing the door behind her.

Fleur had been so uncertain as to what to do, when both Bill and herself had been woken by screams. As Hermione was in the room as well as Ginny, Bill had said she'd better go in to avoid any embarrassment, which wouldn't have stopped him had it just been his sister.

When Fleur got back to bed, she explained what she had seen to her husband. "I felt so bad for her, I've never seen Ginny like that."

"I should go to her," said Bill, making to get out of bed.

However, Fleur held his arm. "Hermione's there for her. She said she's used to this. I think this is something that happened a lot when they were back in time," she said. "I told her if she needed anything, to ask. I think it's best to leave them to it, for now."

"I'm just glad Hermione _is_ here," said Bill, settling back again. "It could be the day and the battle catching up with Ginny, but I think Hermione might be the only one who can understand what's going on in my sister's head, and what on earth has happened between themselves and Ron."


	67. Something You Just Know

**A/N: I thought I'd get this chapter posted tonight, as I probably won't have time in the next couple of days, and I can't have you waiting until this time next week, can I? LOL ;) **

**I was interested and pleased by how many people were freaked out by Ginny's dream, as odd as that sounds. That was a lot of fun to write, in a sadistical kind of way. :)**

67: Something You Just Know

In the circumstances Hermione couldn't quite believe that the thought of '_Thank goodness I hadn't been kissing Ginny when Fleur walked in' _had reached her mind, but that was how they'd had to be for weeks; paranoid and concerned with how things looked to others; not about kissing, but about ordinary things such as name and attire. She soon hoped they wouldn't have to keep hiding themselves, but for now she was concerned about Ginny. With Fleur gone and unlikely to walk in again, Hermione pressed kisses to Ginny's cheek and to the side of her neck, trying to sooth her with her love and kindness.

Ginny was quiet now, a few tears still rolling down her cheeks and the occasional sniffle, but she was breathing normally and pressed her own intermittent kisses to Hermione's cheek and neck.

After a long time had passed Hermione finally asked, "Do you think you can talk to me about it? I've never seen you this bad after a nightmare before?" She felt Ginny nod and pull back from their embrace.

Hermione sat back against the bed's headboard and opened her arm for Ginny to get up close to her, so she felt her support as she spoke. Ginny curled up against her and laid her head on Hermione's chest and shoulder and wrapped her arm around her waist.

"It was...just awful," said Ginny, finally breaking her verbal silence, and taking a couple of deep breaths.

"Take your time," said Hermione, a hand on Ginny's arm.

"I was at the Burrow...," Ginny began, as she told Hermione about what she saw and what people had said; how Bill and Fleur had walked off, and how Ron and George seemed to be the main instigators in the dream. When Ginny finally got to the part where Ron knocked her out and she awoke in the tomb, Hermione sucked in a breath.

"Oh my god," Hermione said, shocked. When Ginny told her what her mother had said, it brought tears to her eyes. "I'm so sorry. I don't know what else to say?"

"Then they all kept flicking their wands and earth started to be thrown over me...burying me," Ginny said, a few tears breaking forth again.

"I can't believe how much you've had to endure with your dreams. I wish I could stop them completely for you, take them away," said Hermione, hugging Ginny to her and kissing her forehead.

"I know why I dreamed it," said Ginny, after another few moments of silence. "It's obvious, really. It's what Ron said to me, and my worry over what everyone will think when they find out about us. No doubt that bloody potion didn't help either."

"They would never kill you, or even hurt you, not like that."

"I know that...I think," considered Ginny. "Ron is an unknown quantity."

"He might be angry, Gin, but he'd never do something like that."

"I don't think he'd care much if I suddenly dropped down dead, or got maimed by something."

"_I'd_ care!" said Hermione. "If I can have any say in it, I'd never let that happen to you. I'd defend you with my life."

Ginny raised herself up to look into Hermione's eyes. "I know...I'm...I'm just rattled by everything. I'm not thinking straight. And it's really weird how it's hit me that Fred...that he's gone. I've had around three weeks to deal with that, why am I going backwards? Grief gets better with time, doesn't it, not worse?"

"Grief hits people in different ways," said Hermione. "There's no rules as to how a person should act, or any timeline with it. And to be fair, we didn't really have the time to consider it all properly, because using that Time-Turner gave us no time to think on anything for too long, and especially not what was going on back here. It might hit you at unexpected times, or after tonight you might feel better about it all and your grief has reached its peak."

"So, maybe this bloody awful dream will help me, in the end?" wondered Ginny. "Urgh! Having your own family gang up on you isn't what I'd call helpful, though." She closed her eyes, another tear silently rolling down her cheek, and took a couple of steadying breaths and sighed, resignedly.

Hermione closed the distance between them and pressed her lips to Ginny's. "I love you, Ginny, and I'm here for you," she said, with a smile. "On a different plus side, I think there's a good indication in your dream about Bill and Fleur."

"It's a dream, it doesn't mean they'd stick up for me in real life. After all, they didn't take me with them, did they?" said Ginny, settling her head back down onto Hermione's chest. "They just walked off in a huff, they didn't come back and save me from the others."

"No...although, as you woke up from your dream, you'll never know if they might have come back and rescued you."

"I don't know."

"Do you think you could see yourself talking to Bill, _and_ Fleur? To tell them the truth about us?" asked Hermione.

"I don't know," sighed Ginny. "I mean, it's Bill..._and_ Fleur!?"

Hermione chuckled. "Yes I know who they are!"

"He's my brother...my older, married brother. It's just...urgh...thinking of telling him anything personal..."

"You're close though, aren't you?"

"We used to be, when I was little and in awe of my 'bwig bwrother'," said Ginny in a comical voice. "Actually, I nearly felt I could tell Bill, the night before the funeral, when he came to talk with me, but I felt really weird about it."

"I think you can trust him...and Fleur," said Hermione, beginning to feel that they might be the best people to confess to first.

"How can you be so sure of that?"

"Because your brother understands what it's like to have others whispering about him behind his back, wondering if he's something he's not, cautious of him and of course, jealous as hell that he has Fleur as a wife."

"I hardly think that qualifies him, or her, to understand how we feel about each other?!" offered Ginny.

"Not exactly the same problem, no," said Hermione. "But I do think they'd understand better than most. And Fleur cared for me after the Bellatrix thing, she couldn't have been nicer. I also think...," she tailed off.

"What?"

"I feel we need some advice."

"Advice?"

"On how to proceed with the whole Ron thing and your parents," said Hermione. "I also have this new burning feeling that I want someone to know about us, now. It's a peculiar feeling, but if we have to confide in anyone, then Bill and Fleur aren't a bad choice."

"You're serious?" asked Ginny, surprised.

"Of course we both have to agree, but I think we won't be able to hide this much longer...not with Ron coming out with Merlin knows what behind our backs. I want this to be on our own terms."

"What if Bill isn't tolerant? What if he's so disgusted he sends me home? Where would you go? You couldn't stay here?"

"I'd go to The Leaky Cauldron, or somewhere like I planned before. I have money."

"I couldn't bear not being near you," said Ginny, as she raised herself up. "I need you so much, right now."

"I know. And I need you," said Hermione, placing a kiss to the red-head's lips. "It would only be for a short time if it did happen. I just think your brother and sister-in-law might be above throwing a hissy disgusted fit."

There was silence again as Ginny thought things through. _Bill wants me to talk to him. Even Fleur keeps offering her help. But do they have any idea just _what _is going on here? Can I take rejection right now? But as Hermione says, it would be better if we did things our own way and soon. _"Okay," she said finally.

"Okay?"

"Let's talk to Bill and Fleur...together. Both of them and both of us, even if I'm sure I'll want the ground to swallow us up and my cheeks might permanently turn red!"

"We'll be together, I'll try to explain where possible...but we'll do this together."

"Agreed," said Ginny.

"If we're going to do this, then let's do this tomorrow, the first chance we get," suggested Hermione.

"Also agreed, because I think I'd be closer to chickening out, if I have too long to think about it."

Hermione rolled them slightly, so she was above the redhead, lowered her head and captured Ginny's lips with her own. The kiss became quite passionate, with hands roaming to caress breasts through T'Shirts, until they both felt breathless and knew they would have to stop for now. Both of them were tired and knew they needed some rest, but they also didn't feel comfortable making love in Ginny's brother's house. With a last lingering kiss, they settled together and tried to find some restful sleep.

XXXXXXXXXX

Ginny awoke first the next morning, having slept the rest of the night with no further nightmares. She had feared she might go straight back to being buried alive, but those visions stayed away. In terms of grief, she felt so much stronger in just the few minutes she'd been awake.

_Fred wouldn't want me to mope around, _she thought, _he'd soon make fun of me if he saw me doing that. He'd want me to get on with things, not be stuck in misery. Actually, if he saw me mope about for too long he'd probably spike my drink with something awful, that made me do something embarrassing or grow a tail! _She smiled as she thought about that, and although she still felt sad and wistful, she felt better about it all, and promised herself that when she missed her brother she'd think about what he'd do to get her to laugh and to stop her being gloomy. She knew she'd have to try and stay positive and keep the negative feelings away.

For the moment she looked at the still sleeping Hermione; looking at the curve of her jawline, her lips, her neck. Unable to resist, Ginny placed a soft kiss to Hermione's cheek and another one to her jaw, one to her neck, then finished her lips' journey by pressing them to Hermione's.

"Hmm?" Hermione uttered, stirring.

Leaning over her lover, Ginny placed another light kiss to Hermione's lips. The brunette's eyes flickered open and immediately she smiled. She moved a hand out from under the covers and cupped Ginny's cheek.

"How are you feeling?"

"Better," said Ginny. "Much better...about Fred, anyway. I feel a little foolish about last night, to be honest."

"You weren't being foolish," said Hermione, as she moved strands of Ginny's hair back over the girl's shoulder. "What you experienced was devastatingly upsetting and frightening, on top of being exhausted before you even had the dream."

"Thanks for being there for me," said Ginny, with a shrug of her shoulders, feeling embarrassed. "I think, and hope, it might well have been that 'peak' for me, because since I woke up I've been feeling much more positive about Fred and how I've got to think about it, to not let it take me over. I'm not sure about the other stuff, that's an unknown thing. Anyway, thanks, Hermione."

"Any time. I wish I could have been more help."

Ginny lowered her head and kissed Hermione, their tongues gently pushing against the other in the slowest of dances, before they broke the kiss and stared into each other's eyes.

"I...," began Ginny, before dropping her voice to a whisper. "I'd love to...you know. But I'm not comfortable doing _anything _here."

Hermione smiled. "I know what you mean. I'd love to...to touch you and feel you against me...but I don't think we should at your brother's house."

"So are you still up for talking to them this morning?"

"Yeah, I'd like to try," replied Hermione with a sigh. "That's another reason not to _sleep _sleep with each other here. I know it's not the same as being at a parents' house, but we can be honest when we say we respect his house and haven't been _doing _anything."

"We're _really _going to tell him _that_?" asked an astounded Ginny.

"I don't know, but I'm sure it will be a concern for them that we're...we might be..."

"Doing the 'naughty'?"

"Yeah," laughed Hermione, as she made to move and get out of bed. "Just in case, I'm going to pack my things into my bag."

"I so hope we don't have to be apart," said Ginny.

"Me too. But I have to be prepared in case it happens."

On getting up they saw that it was gone nine o'clock in the morning, and when Ginny went across to the bathroom, she saw her brother and sister-in-law's bedroom door open and the bed made. Both Ginny and Hermione freshened up and dressed, before going downstairs, their legs feeling the smallest of trembles, with each step descended. Before reaching the bottom step their arrival had already been noted.

"Good morning girls," said Fleur.

Bill was reading the Daily Prophet, which was a thicker edition than usual, no doubt due to more and more events being reported by survivors from Hogwarts. He looked up. "Morning, you two," he said.

"Would you like some toast for breakfast?" asked Fleur. "Or something else?"

"You don't have to get our breakfast, we can do that," said Hermione.

"You're guests in our house, and I'd like to," said Fleur, in a voice that said she wasn't taking 'no' for an answer.

"Toast sounds fine, thanks" said Hermione, as she and Ginny sat at the kitchen table.

"Anything interesting in the Prophet?" asked Ginny, knowing that the nervous part of her was trying to avoid what they'd decided to do. It reminded her of how they procrastinated once or twice before going to Borgin & Burkes. _Look, I can't avoid it, just face it, _she thought, _I've faced worse...I think..._

"Lots of conflicting news coming from the Ministry," said Bill. "The only thing they _can_ agree on as being correct, is Kingsley being the new Minister."

"It would have been a crime if he hadn't been chosen," said Hermione, as Fleur poured her and Ginny a cup of tea each.

"No one else could deal with what he has to," said Bill. "I just hope he brings a bit more order to his departments. One says one thing and another releases a totally opposite statement. Anyway," he said, putting the paper down. "How are you, Ginny?"

"Me?" said Ginny, mumbling around a bite of toast. "I'm fine."

"You didn't sound fine last night."

"Oh...sorry about that."

"Sorry? Don't apologize," said Bill. "You can't help it."

"Great, you're making me sound like...like someone who ought to be in St Mungo's next to Lockhart," said Ginny, before putting on a funny voice and saying, "'Did you hear about that Ginny Weasley, she's addicted to floo powder? Ah bless her, she can't help it!'" It made the other three laugh.

"You know what I mean," said Bill. "I know Hermione's helped you, and I'm glad she was here for you last night, but if you ever need another pair of ears, just to listen, I'm here for you too."

_Oh crap!_ thought Ginny, _here's the opening, right here. _Just as she thought it, Hermione had moved a hand across to her lap under the table, to momentarily hold her hand, giving it a squeeze of encouragement. _She knows it too._

"Actually, I want to talk to you," said Ginny. "_We_ want to talk to you, both."

Bill looked from Ginny to Hermione, as did Fleur, as she sat down next to Bill opposite the two younger women. "Is this about last night? Your nightmare?" asked Fleur.

"In a way," said Ginny.

"I think you should tell them about your dream," Hermione said to Ginny. "It might show them the...the _extent _of how things have affected you."

_That's a very good idea, _thought Ginny, _if I show how beaten down and scared I am about it, maybe it will keep them from jumping down my throat...maybe..._

"I dreamed about visiting Fred's tomb, in the exact place it is in real life...," Ginny told them, and went through the confusing parts of Bill and Fleur leaving and herself not knowing what was going on. Revisiting the dream was hard, but Ginny felt much stronger than she had done during the night, and although tears threatened to fall as she told Bill and Fleur exactly what Ron and their mother had said, she went on until the end of it.

Hermione reached for Ginny's hand again, and nodded to her, giving her strength and feeling immensely proud of the redhead. Fleur's eyes were watery and Bill wore an expression that didn't conceal his shock at what his sister had had to go through.

"That was bloody awful," said Bill. "We heard what Ron said yesterday before we left, but I never thought you'd get a nightmare about it."

"Me neither," said Ginny, flatly. "And unfortunately it was the very realistic kind of dream we both kept having when we were time-hopping."

"I understand the horror you had," said Fleur. "I can see why you were upset...but," the Frenchwoman paused, remembering how Ginny had looked last night and knowing there was more to it, somehow. "But it would never happen. Ron's words were very hurtful, but that's all they were, just words, despite your mind making you live it."

Ginny sighed. "I might not be buried alive, but some of it...some of the...the...," she was stumbling, searching for the words.

Hermione came to the rescue. "The thing is, some of the _attitudes_ of the people in the dream, might be true. Or we fear they _will_ be like that."

Fleur looked to Hermione, then to Bill. "I don't understand. Are you saying Ginny actually fears that everyone wishes she was dead instead of Fred?"

"Essentially," replied Hermione. "They might in the near future."

"Why on earth would you fear that?" asked Bill. "I know Ron is being a prat right now, but we aren't about to turn on you. Or you Hermione. If you've split up or whatever you've done with Ron, that's your business, the rest of the family should stay out of it."

"If only it was that simple," said Hermione.

"Fleur, are you understanding things any better?" asked Bill. "Is this something only women's intuition works on, because frankly, I'm a bit lost."

"It involves Ron and why he's acting the way he is," said Hermione, deciding to steam-roller onwards now they had started.

"He was jealous and upset you didn't take him with you," said Bill. "He hasn't told me that, but I'm guessing that's his problem?"

"Only partly," said Ginny. "It's complicated and I'm...I'm not sure where to begin."

"I'll try," said Hermione, doing as she said she would in taking the lead, even though she felt ready to honk up her toast from nerves. "It's partly about the fact I didn't take Ron with me, and that I didn't even tell him about any possible plan. But that's not the whole reason why he's being...difficult."

Hermione took a deep breath, ran a hand through her hair and set herself to continue, as Bill and Fleur sat silently, confused and waiting for answers. "Something happened to us while we were away."

"You were injured," said Bill. "You told us a little about that."

"Yes I was injured, but that's not what I'm trying to tell you. Something changed, for both of us. It just happened. It wasn't looked for...and...and we both tried to ignore it, knowing that it was a little crazy. But then it all just happened anyway and felt completely natural," said Hermione, now babbling at a fast speed. "Those three weeks felt like months, and we were jumping years in seconds, all we had that ever made any sense, was each other. We talked and talked, knowing it was fast, knowing what we left behind and what we'd come back to and we're both scared stiff and haven't a clue what to do. We agreed that we'd tell you two, because we hope we can trust you and we have the cheek to maybe even ask for your advice and help...unless you throw me out and send Ginny home, but we felt we had to tell someone and you...,"

"Woah! Hermione, slow down," said Bill, holding up his hands, palms down, in a calming motion.

Ginny squeezed Hermione's hand, knowing that the brunette was incredibly nervous, just as she was, but was glad she'd said what she had, even if it _was_ at high speed.

"Throw you out?" asked Fleur, trying to catch up with and make sense of, what Hermione had nearly overwhelmed them with. "Why would we throw you out, Hermione?"

Hermione looked to Ginny, a blush creeping to her cheeks, before she looked back to Fleur. "Because...because Ginny and I are...together."

"Together?" Bill asked, bemused.

"Together?" asked Fleur, as she looked from Hermione to Ginny, taking in the blushes, the fact they were gripping each other's hands, and the way they looked at each other. "OH!"

"What?" Bill said.

"Bill, they're _together _together," said Fleur.

"They're WHAT?!"

"I _have_ got that right?" asked a worried Fleur.

"Yes," said Hermione. "We've been through so much together, and that bond between us only got stronger and the whole thing sort of surprised us and crept up on us. Please, please don't think I never gave Ron a thought. He was on my mind a lot, we hate the idea of hurting anyone."

"The same with me and Harry," said Ginny, unsure as to how Bill was taking the news. "Except Harry visited me in my dreams, and talking to him about it, I think it was actually him...anyway, he knew about us and understood. Although, until a few days ago, I never thought we'd be bringing him back from the dead."

"It's not a crush thing," said Hermione, still trying to fight their corner, unsure herself of how their audience were taking the news. "We...we know it's love." Hermione blushed deeply, looked down and went silent, unable to look Bill or Fleur in the eye.

"Let me get this straight," said Bill. "You think we'd all turn our back on you, and Mum and Dad would happily bury you alive, Ginny, because you and Hermione are together?"

"Something like that," said Ginny. "I think Ron is at least imagining stabbing me with sharp objects."

"You don't have to like it, or agree with it. I'll leave if you want me to," said Hermione, continuing to look down and avoid eye contact. "But we wanted to tell someone. I know it all sounds ridiculous with how fast it's all been. But you ought to know...nothing has happened here in your house...,"

_Merlin's pants, Hermione's got to the embarrassing part, _thought Ginny, mildly mortified, despite knowing it was probably going to be mentioned.

"We respect you two, too much to take...liberties," Hermione managed to say before nervously muttering, "But I'll understand if you want me to sleep on the sofa down here or somewhere, or if you want me to leave."

Bill stood up, and turned away as Fleur watched him, not knowing what he was going to say or do. "We've all been through so much," he said, as he looked out of the kitchen window. "Everyone has had so much fear for months and months, years in truth; all that grief and pain. You two helped to save our world, to stop it all, and instead of enjoying the new freedom and relief you've helped to bring about, you're scared."

"You would be too if you'd had that dream and have Ron wishing you were dead," said Ginny.

"I'm not going to wish you dead," said Bill, as he turned around to face them again. "I'm not saying I understand it all because, well, I'm a bloke, aren't I? But I'm not going to shout at you, or try to split you up. If you both believe you love each other, then I believe you too."

"They _do _love each other," said Fleur. "I can see it in front of my own eyes. I thought I detected something before, but thought I was crazy for even thinking it."

Ginny studied her brother's face. "You're going to send me home now, aren't you?"

"No," he said in a plain voice. "I'm not going to send you away, nor you Hermione. Although, I can also see why Ron is acting like he is, now."

"We understand it as well," said Hermione. "Of course we do. He's hurt, shocked, confused and angry. It's just so hard to face him, the way he his, at the moment. We don't know what to do?"

"That's why we decided to tell you," said Ginny, oddly feeling close to tears, and she wasn't sure if it was from relief or the whole situation. "We know others will find out, we...we know Mum and Dad will have to be told sometime, if Ron hasn't already blurted it out. We don't know how, when...or...?"

Hermione held on tightly to Ginny's hand as she heard the redhead falter and her voice become broken with emotion. "We're sorry to bring this to you," she said, trying to keep her own composure. "But we had no one else to go to. And we needed to tell someone, other than Ron and Harry."

Both young women had a tear or two down their cheeks. Fleur looked at them and felt a surge of admiration and affection for them. She went over and hugged Hermione. "You're still very welcome to stay here, as long as you need to," she told the brunette, before she hugged a surprised Ginny. "I'm glad you told us. It must have taken a lot of nerve to decide to do so."

"Bill? I know you're disappointed with me. I know you probably don't want and certainly don't need anything else to think about, but I wanted to tell you," said Ginny, still not knowing for certain whether Bill was going to be awkward or not.

"Disappointed? No," said Bill, as he actually smiled. "Surprised? Yes, I'm bloody surprised!"

"We were too. We're still sort of adjusting to it all ourselves. You're...you're not going to send me home, are you?" Ginny asked again.

Bill sat back down. "I know something about feeling different, knowing that people will look at you differently or act oddly around you...thanks to this," he said, pointing to his scarred face. "I didn't have a choice with my issues..."

"What are you saying?" asked a worried Ginny. "That...that we had a choice and chose wrongly?"

"No. If you'd let me finish," he said kindly. "I was going to say, that you didn't really have a choice either. You followed what your hearts told you, even though you know it's going to be difficult."

"We thought about it a lot, tried to run from it," said Hermione. "But what I feel for Ginny it's...it's deeper than what I felt for Ron. Also, I've never felt completely confident about a future with Ron, despite only recently finally kissing him. I just know it would have gone badly."

Bill looked at Fleur as she sat back next to him, he reached over and took her hand. "I think it's something you just know," he said, as he looked at his wife. "It's something deep down that tugs at you, and no matter where you are, you know you should be with the one you truly love." He brought Fleur's hand to his lips and kissed it.

A few weeks ago Ginny would have audibly gagged, but at that moment she felt only affection and happiness for them both. "I know I'm young," said Ginny. "I know people are going to say we haven't a clue about what we want, that it's a stupid girlie thing and it's a phase or even a sickness, but I can only say it feels real to me. I know it seemed like I moved on from Harry too quickly, and I've been dealing with feelings of guilt for it, but...with everything that's happened, my feelings for Hermione are _very_ real."

"It's the same for me too," said Hermione. "I love Ginny."

"I'm pleased you felt able to tell us," said Bill. "We'll support you, won't we Fleur?"

"Absolutely. I feel honoured to be trusted with this. I'm here for you both," said the blonde woman. "Anyway, Veelas often take female partners, so it's no real shock to me."

"They _do_?" asked Bill, suddenly very interested.

Fleur laughed at her husband. "But not while they're happily married to someone already!"

"I suppose I can unpack my clothes again now," said Hermione.

"You really thought we'd turf you out?" asked Bill.

"We didn't know," the brunette sighed. "We don't know how anyone will take this news, so we have to assume the worst, because it's not what people expect. It takes everyone out of their comfort zone, or away from what they think they know."

"It will definitely take some getting used to," said Bill. "But I'm willing to learn."

"Learn? Just what do you mean by LEARN, William?" asked Fleur.

"I don't mean learn about...you know...I mean, learn to get used to the fact my sister has a girlfriend," he said, but his wife was grinning.

"Girlfriend?!" exclaimed Ginny. "Is _that_ what I have?"

Hermione gave a nervous giggle. "I think that's me!"

"I, Ginny Weasley, have a girlfriend," said Ginny out loud, then promptly snorted into giggles, all the tension she'd been holding on to dropping in a instant.

"Looks like you have some learning to do as well," said Bill. "You're both welcome here as long as you need, and we trust you...about the other thing."

"The other thing?" questioned Ginny.

"About your sleeping arrangments," Fleur interjected.

"OH!" said a blushing Ginny. "_That_ thing. Yeah, we'll be on our best behaviour."

"Thank you," said Hermione. "Thank you both for listening, for not hating us, or judging us or throwing me out. It means a lot to me, and to Ginny, to have someone else to turn to. Your parents on the other hand...that's going to be rough..."

"We'll get to that when we need to," said Bill. "How did you approach telling Harry and Ron, out of interest?"

"We hadn't intended to so soon," said Hermione. "But it happened beyond our control."

"I don't understand?" asked Fleur.

"Our patronuses changed, and were seen by Harry and Ron respectively. Except Harry is some kind of expert on it and figured it out. I think it also triggered his memories of that weird dream connection he had with Ginny," said Hermione, and then went on to explain about Snape's patronus and how their own ones had changed.

Ginny explained what Harry had talked to her about, regarding her dreams. Both her brother and sister-in-law were fascinated by it. There were a few moments of quiet as everyone took in what they had heard and talked about, before anyone spoke again.

"We were going to spend some time on the beach today, take a picnic down there and try to relax. Would you like to join us?" asked Bill.

Ginny looked to Hermione and they both smiled at each other. "Sounds great," said Ginny, feeling tired but extremely relieved with how the morning had gone so far.


	68. The Question of Parents

**A/N: ****This chapter could be seen as a 'linking' one, but it was needed for the chapters to follow. Otherwise the story would go from A to C with no idea what happened on B. **

68: The Question of Parents.

Hermione and Ginny had both considered that things might feel a little awkward with Bill and Fleur, but it was almost as if they hadn't told them about their relationship; they treated them exactly the same as they had the day before. Despite that, all four did talk some more about the girls' time-travelling exploits, which occasionally touched onto how they relied on each other. Fleur had said she would have liked to have met the American soldiers, Matt and Joe, thinking she could have run rings around the men and confused them completely, and Bill was interested in the army base.

The hours seemed to flash by as they all enjoyed their time together at the beach. All four had paddled in the sea, even though the water was freezing cold that day. The ability to use a wand to dry and de-sand feet was a very much easier and painless alternative to using a towel. As the day clouded over and the air began to feel much cooler, they all headed back to Shell Cottage.

Both Hermione and Ginny went upstairs to change, certain they could still feel grains of sand in their clothing. Changed into fresh attire and with the door closed, Ginny put her arms around Hermione and kissed her. "I've been wanting to do that since the last time we kissed, before we left for the beach," she grinned.

"Everything feels okay, doesn't it?" asked Hermione, as she kept her arms around Ginny.

"Knowing that _they _know, doesn't feel as bad as I thought it would."

"It's a bit of a relief."

"It's a definite relief that they didn't get all huffy and send us away," said Ginny. "I'm not sure I could have dealt with that."

"For now, we're all right," said Hermione softly. "Take each day as it comes."

Ginny leaned in and kissed Hermione, and when their lips parted, she moved her head and whispered in the brunette's ear. "I wish I could make_ you_ come, right now." She then placed soft kisses to Hermione's neck

Hermione made a strange noise, somewhere between a sucked in breath and a squeak. "We can't," she said, also in a whisper.

"I know, I know," said Ginny. "It doesn't stop the thoughts, though, does it?"

"We ought to be going back downstairs now, or your brother _will _think we're _doing _something," said Hermione, as she pressed her lips to Ginny's once more. They were then about to move apart and open the door, when they were surprised out of their embrace first.

"Ginny?! GINNY?!" called Bill up the stairs. "Mum's here!"

"Shit! What does _she _want?" wondered Ginny. "Oh crap! You don't think Ron's said something, do you?"

"We won't know until we go downstairs. Come on, it's no use worrying about it up here, only one way to find out."

They found Mrs. Weasley sitting on the sofa and the woman looked up as soon as they entered the room. "Ginny!" the woman said, getting up to go and hug her youngest child.

"Is everything all right, Mum?" asked Ginny. "Where's Dad?"

"Yes, yes, we're all fine, considering. Your father's gone into work, I think he needs to feel useful, like he's doing something worthwhile, to make sense of everything. So much to do there, the Ministry is a complete shambles!" said Mrs. Weasley, as she hugged Hermione.

_If she's hugging me, that's good, _thought Hermione. _It means she doesn't know. Or does she know and isn't angry about it? Hmm, I think it's the first case._

"So...er...what are you doing here, Mum?" asked Ginny.

"Can't I visit my son, daughter and daughter-in-law when I want to?"

"It's not that, I just wondered if there was a specific reason?" said a very cautious Ginny. She looked to Hermione who gave her an almost imperceptible shake of her head. _Yeah, I don't think Mum knows either, _thought Ginny.

"I thought I'd bring over some groceries, as there's two extra in the house," said Mrs. Weasley. "Maybe if you ate some regular meals you'll avoid further nightmares."

Ginny looked at Bill accusingly, but he gave a little shake of _his_ head. "Nightmares?" asked Ginny vaguely.

"Bill told me you had one last night?"

"Oh, that. Yeah, it wasn't nice, but it's the kind we were getting when we were away," Ginny told her mother. _She knows I had one, but not the details, thank you Bill! _

"Well, I'm so glad you had Hermione with you," Mrs. Weasley said, smiling at Hermione.

"We're both used to them. We hope that the longer we're here they might eventually stop happening," said Hermione. "Err...Mrs. Weasley, how's George and...and Ron?" She had wanted to ask about Ron straight away, but didn't want to be backed into a corner, so placed his brother first, although she genuinely wanted to know about George too.

"He's...he's managing," said Mrs. Weasley sadly. "He went back to the shop this morning. I'd hoped he'd stay at the Burrow for a few more days, but Arthur said we have to let him do what he feels he needs to. As for Ron, he's gone too."

"Gone?" asked Ginny.

"This morning Harry said he wanted to see Grimmauld Place, so Ron went with him, just in case there was any trouble, and they seem to still be there now. Charlie tagged along too, and if everything was all right he was going back to Romania later today. That house was always such a gloomy and grimey place. Even after all our cleaning there a couple of years ago, it always looked filthy."

"I suppose Harry might live there now?" Hermione wondered out loud.

"He can do," said Mrs. Weasley. "But I hate to think of him there by himself. I hope he'll still think of the Burrow as home."

"Can I get you a cup of tea, Mum?" asked Bill, as he was gauging the conversation as much as his sister and Hermione were.

"No, I won't stop," said Mrs. Weasley. "I only wanted to drop off those groceries, to say hello and see that you were all well. You won't stay here too long, will you Ginny?"

Before Ginny could attempt to answer the mildly awkward question, Fleur came to her rescue. "They're both welcome to stay as long as they want to. I think the sea air will do them the world of good."

"You could just as easily relax at the Burrow, dear," said Mrs. Weasley to her daughter. "I wish you and Ron would settle your differences, you too Hermione."

"I hope to, really I do," said Hermione nervously. "Only, it's a bit soon, and I don't think he'll even talk to me yet."

"Hmm. I wish you'd tell me what's going on between you three?"

"We...we...," Hermione faltered.

"We will eventually, Mum. Not now, though. It's too bloody tiring to face at the moment," said Ginny.

"Give them some space, Mum," said Bill. "Everyone is tired and emotionally ragged still. Let the dust settle a bit, yeah?"

Mrs. Weasley had stood up and was edging towards the door; as she was about to leave she said. "Bill, you _will_ look out for them both, and yourselves?"

"Of course," he said, as he kissed his mother's cheek and waved as she left through the door.

Ginny leaned right back on the sofa and groaned. "Is Mum all right?" she asked Bill, when he walked back into the room.

"I think so, but she's not enjoying an empty house. Percy has gone back to his flat in London, apparently, and it sounds as though Charlie is probably going back to Romania today, although Dad heard he's been offered a decent job at the Ministy," replied Bill. "Anyway, I think she's also upset with the Ron situation and she's missing you."

"So why didn't she stay here a bit longer?" replied Ginny.

"I think she wanted to get back and get some dinner on the go for when Dad gets home."

"Thanks for not telling her the details of my dream," said Ginny. "Or how it affected me."

"It's not my business to tell her. I mean, I told her you had a nightmare, because I couldn't lie when she asked me what sort of night you had, but I didn't tell her any details," said Bill.

Ginny groaned again. "God it's going to be hard to tell Mum and Dad about us."

"You'll need to pick the right moment," said Bill. "When they have time to listen to you, when they're alone."

"They're always busy!" said Ginny. "And Dad sounds like he'll be working a lot of overtime at the Ministry."

"There'll still be a moment, a good time," reassured Bill. "And if not, I'll have to try and prepare one for you," he smiled. "Also, she wants you to tell her what's been going on, so if you say you want to talk to her about that 'thing', she's sure to make time for you. Her and Dad."

"I'm just not ready yet," said Ginny, as Hermione held her hand again. "Are you?"

"I don't know," said Hermione, and then she added, tiredly. "I don't know how we'll ever know when the time is right. With our news, there might never be a right time for it."

"I think you need to tell them soon," said Fleur. "It's always better to give surprising news to parents from your own mouths, not let them hear rumours or hear the truth from somewhere else."

"You're thinking Ron again?" asked Ginny.

"He might let something slip, but you maybe have to consider that your parents have offered him the chance to talk to them too. He might take that offer and then they'll hear it from him," said Fleur.

"I hadn't thought of that," said Hermione.

"Also, despite what any of us think about your mother," Fleur said to Bill, with half a smile. "She's not stupid. If you wait too long she'll _see _that something strange is going on. As of yet she hasn't questioned why you and Harry aren't spending time together, Ginny?"

"She thought he dumped me, which he did," said Ginny.

"Yes, but she knew _why_ he did it, to keep you safe. Now he's back from the dead and Voldemort's gone, she'll assume you'll get together again," said a very knowing Fleur.

"Shit!" was Ginny's answer to that.

"I'm not pushing you, but having a little time to think things over, I agree with Fleur, I think you should consider talking to our parents sooner rather than later," said Bill.

"What? So soon after...Fred?" asked Ginny.

"Life goes on," said Bill, with a sigh. "And our parents know that more than most. Just because you've had one devastating experience, it doesn't mean life goes on hold and stops other shocks or surprises from happening too."

"I can't imagine we'll cause anything other than shock and surprise," said Ginny, glumly.

"You're forgetting anger, disgust and a few other possible negative reactions," said Hermione drily.

"The point is, life doesn't allow you to space out big events, they just happen and sometimes they _have _to happen," said Bill. "Anyway, that's something for you to think on. And if the worst happens, then you can live here, Ginny."

"Thanks Bill."

"Anytime," he said, then he clapped his hands together, "Now, if Mum were still here we'd be cooking a nice, nourishing dinner, but since she's gone, we're opting for a wonderful muggle alternative called 'take-away'! So what do you want? Burgers? Fried chicken? Curry?"

Hermione laughed and after a little discussion they decided on burgers and fries. Although the take-away place was in a nearby town, it didn't take Bill long with the help of Apparating for part of the distance.

Not having the energy to stay up too late, all four of them went to bed a good time. Before they went up, Bill told them he might be out the next morning, as he thought he'd go to the Ministry and see if there was anything he could help with.

"You never know," said Bill. "I might get a job there!"

"Well, there must be plenty of vacancies," said Hermione. "You'd be an asset to the place too."

XXXXXXXXXX

Ginny and Hermione enjoyed several kisses that night before going to sleep. Ginny had such an overwhelming feeling of want and need for her lover that without much thought she'd pushed up Hermione's T'Shirt and devoted her attention to Hermione's breasts. The brunette could feel her desire burning to be let free and if she hadn't stopped Ginny when she had, and gently reminded her that they couldn't do more, she was close to just letting it happen. Both women gave a few mutters of discontent, as they settled back down in each other's arms, trying to calm their breathing and find sleep.

"When can we make love again?" asked a frustrated Ginny. "We can't here, so where?"

"I don't know yet," replied Hermione, just as frustrated. "We won't have to wait forever, we've just got to be patient for a little while. It all depends when we talk to your parents, or other things, and where we're staying and so on."

Giving another little frustrated groan, Ginny closed her eyes and from the broken night she'd had before, along with the tiring day, she wasn't long in finding sleep. Hermione, however, didn't fall asleep straight away. She watched Ginny as the girl inhaled and exhaled relaxed breaths, hoping she wouldn't have anymore nightmares. The thing that was preventing Hermione from going to sleep was her mind.

Now that the metaphorical sediments of the Battle and their time-travelling experience had settled, she felt her mind clear and other thoughts came to her which she'd not forgotten about exactly, just locked away. The thought which troubled her now had first come to her when they were eating their burger and fries for dinner. It reminded her of the very few times she had gone with her parents for a burger or for pizza. And that was the thought that troubled her now: her parents.

_When do I find them? _How_ do I find them? _she thought. _Is it safe for them to be revealed yet? What will they think of me for tampering with their minds? Will they hate me for it? Will they hate me more for that, than being in a relationship with a girl? Not to mention, can I even reverse what I did to them in the first place?_

The same set of questions kept going around in Hermione's head and sleep didn't come to her. Ginny had made a small sleepy noise and had moved slightly, so she wasn't lying on her girlfirend as much anymore. _It's no good worrying that I can't sleep, _Hermione thought.

She decided that she would go downstairs and see if Bill and Fleur had any hot chocolate, and that making a milky one of those might help her to get to sleep. She moved very slowly, so as not to disturb Ginny, and got out of bed and made her way down the stairs, using the light from her wand to see by. In the kitchen she looked in the most likely cupboard and was pleased to find some hot chocolate. Choosing a mug and flicking her wand, she soon had a hot mug of the soothing beverage.

"Midnight feast?" said a voice, making Hermione jump. It was Fleur.

"Sorry, did I clatter around and wake you?" asked Hermione.

"No. I couldn't sleep. You neither?"

"No. I wondered if a mug of this might help."

"I was thinking of doing the same," said Fleur with a smile, as she got her own mug and made her own hot chocolate. "Ginny's asleep?"

"Yes, so far. I'm hoping she doesn't get anymore bad dreams."

"Maybe confiding in Bill and me will help some of it?"

"It might," agreed Hermione. "Fleur, thanks...you know, for this morning."

"I'm pleased you trusted us enough to tell us," said the blonde woman. "It also stops us wondering and trying to guess what was going on between you two and Ron. I think Bill was close to making bets with me on just what it was about."

"I expect lots of people are wondering about it all," said Hermione, then she sighed tiredly. "Everything just keeps happening. One thing after another. The Battle, going back to 1943, going to 1945, then 1997, before going back to Hogwarts, bringing Harry back, more Battle. And if that wasn't enough I fall in love with Ginny and have Ron hating our guts. It's like I haven't had time to think."

Fleur rested a hand on Hermione's shoulder. "You've been through so much. I hope you can relax here and get your energy back."

"I hope so too, but tonight only gave me more disturbing thoughts."

"Are you worried about Bill and me? I can reassure you, although surprised, we're not disgusted or angry and we meant what we said about supporting you both."

"It's not that," said Hermione. "You've been so good to us."

"Ah, then you're worried about Ginny's parents?" Fleur guessed. "You'll have to tell them soon, because...," Fleur tailed off when she saw Hermione shake her head.

"I'm worried about _my _parents," said Hermione. "I don't know what to do about them."

"Talk to me," said Fleur, as she got hold of Hermione's hand and led her through to the sitting room, both taking a seat on the sofa, as they sipped from their drinks. The Frenchwoman flicked her wand and lit a lamp to a low soft light.

"It's a thought that only came to me this evening," Hermione said. "I feel ashamed that I didn't think of them sooner, although I've _had_ to lock away thoughts about them to even function and do what I had to, and now I _have_ thought about them properly, I don't know what to do. I don't even know what I _can _do?"

"You altered their minds, didn't you?" asked Fleur, gently.

"Yes. They're in Australia now...or should be. But I'm not sure I know how to find them, or if it's even _safe_ enough to find them yet. I don't want any stray Death Eater trying to take a shot at me through my parents. And...and if I _do _find them, they might hate me when they find out what I've done, and that's before I even think about this thing with Ginny!" Hermione leaned forward, set her cup on the coffee table in front of them and put her head in her hands, rubbing at her tired eyes.

"No wonder you can't sleep," said Fleur, softly, taking sips from her own drink.

"I know you can't know exactly what it's like, but what would _you_ do?" asked Hermione.

"Hmm. Well, unless it's absolutely impossible, I would always say it's best to deal with one thing at a time. Obviously in the Battle there weren't any options to do that, and things were literally thrown at us from all angles, but now...you need to face one thing at a time."

"So, I leave my parents alone, for now?"

"Yes. Your problem at the moment is Ron and the Weasley parents. And believe me, when you have that lot to deal with, you don't have room to think on anything else." Fleur gave a little laugh. "Anyway, deal with the Weasleys first, see what happens and where you stand, and once that is clearer, one way or another, then you can start on your own parents. At the moment your parents are safe. It _is _probably better to let things settle down here for a while, like you said."

"How is it _I_ couldn't come up with that easy solution?" said Hermione.

Fleur thought for a few moments. "Sometimes things only become clearer when you voice them to someone else. Or they give voice to something you already knew but hadn't decided on."

Hermione finished her hot chocolate. "Thanks Fleur...again!"

"I'm glad I could help, even if it was just a little."

"I want to see my parents again, badly," said Hermione. "But what you've said makes the most sense. Besides, I'm not sure I could deal with two sets of parents possibly rejecting me, or arguing, or any of that."

"Anytime you need to talk, find me," said Fleur. "I'll always listen and try to help."

Hermione turned and hugged Fleur. "Thank you. You've helped me more than you know. I think I'd better go back to bed now."

"I'd better do the same," said a yawning Fleur, as she put out the lamp.

Walking back into the bedroom, Hermione had to smile as her eyes fell upon Ginny. The red-haired woman had her arm around the lump of bed covers that Hermione had left behind when she got out of bed. In her sleep, Ginny obviously thought the lump of covers was her girlfriend. Carefully getting into bed, Hermione did well not to laugh out loud as she pulled up the covers and found Ginny's arm move up with them, which then proceeded to hold her tightly. With a smile on her face and a much quieter mind, Hermione finally found sleep herself.

XXXXXXXXXX

The next morning, Ginny and Hermione awoke late, neither having had nightmares and Hermione feeling much better about the situation with her parents. As they got dressed, she talked to Ginny about it, although the redhead seemed a bit miffed that Hermione had talked to Fleur about it first.

"I didn't mean to talk to Fleur, before you," said Hermione. "She was there at that very moment, that's all."

"I know I'm younger than you, but I want you to know you _can_ talk to me. You can talk to me about anything."

Hermione went over to Ginny and wrapped her arms around her. "I _know _I can. You understand things better than some people twice our age. Last night was a weird thing, where I couldn't sleep, went to get a hot drink and Fleur was there too. I think had Filch shown up in the kitchen last night I would have spoken to him, such was my stupid head!"

"I'm being a little possessive, aren't I?" said Ginny, with half a smile.

"No you're not. You care," said Hermione, as she placed a kiss on the girl's lips. "And I love how you make me feel, well, loved."

"You _are _loved," said Ginny adamantly. "Soo, what are we going to do today?"

"I think the beach might beckon again. What would you like to do?" asked Hermione.

"The beach sounds good to me."

After breakfast the two girls told Fleur they were heading to the beach for a little while. The Frenchwoman was sorting through a pile of paperwork at the kitchen table and told them that once Bill came home she had to go out herself.

"You don't have to babysit us," said Hermione.

"I wasn't aware I was?!" said Fleur.

"Then why wait for Bill to get home first?" asked Ginny. "You don't have to worry about us...and...and we won't be...you know."

Fleur laughed. "I know, I trust you. I personally don't have any problem with that, but I understand why we should be cautious. Although, it's hardly as though you'll get pregnant! " Hermione and Ginny blushed profusely, which made Fleur want to laugh again, but not wanting to make them feel more uncomfortable, she went on to the subject of Bill. "But if you must know, I'm intrigued as to whether Bill has a new job when he gets back. If I went out, I'd risk missing the first moment he's back."

"Fair enough," said Ginny.

The two young women spent a lazy morning, sitting on a rug on the beach, watching the gentle waves roll in, talking of all sorts of things; some serious, other subjects were lighter. Around lunch time they went back to Shell Cottage, wondering if Bill was back yet. As they walked through the door, they could hear voices and saw that indeed Bill was back, but Mr. Weasley was with him too.

"Hello!" Ginny said, as her father came over to her. "Everything all right, Dad?"

"Mostly, yes. I shouldn't complain," he replied.

Ginny thought her father looked very tired. "Anything interesting happening at the Ministry, then?"

"The past 48 hours were a nightmare. It'll be hectic for a while, but already there's more order. At least we'll have more help now," her father smiled.

"Yes they will," said Fleur, happily.

"You've got a job there, I gather?" Hermione asked Bill, understanding what Fleur and Mr. Weasley meant straight away.

"I've been given a joint supervisor position with Magical Law Enforcement," said Bill.

"That's brilliant!" said Ginny.

"Kingsley saw Bill as soon as he walked into the place and nearly dragged him off to offer him that job," said Mr. Weasley proudly. "I'm not sure he would have let him go again until he accepted!"

"That's not all though, is it?" said Fleur.

"Well, tell us?!" said Ginny.

"Bill is going to be working alongside Harry," said a delighted Fleur.

"Harry? Harry's been offered a job?" asked a very surprised Ginny.

"So, he won't be going back to school...if they ever rebuild it?" voiced Hermione.

"I think it would be dreadfully awkward for the lad," said Arthur Weasley. "Carrying around his fame was always a burden before, but now? No, I think he's chosen the best option. After all, he knows a lot of things which people at the Ministry have never heard of, or even attempted."

"I suppose I can understand that," said Hermione.

"It will be hard on you, Ginny," said her father. "You won't get to spend much time with Harry, if you're at school and he's at work. Well, there's always the holidays and maybe the occasional weekend."

Ginny immediately felt uncomfortable and guilty, and Hermione felt her mouth go a little dry. "I'm sure I'll survive," said Ginny, not even wanting to think about school yet.

For a moment Mr. Weasley looked at Ginny, thinking her tone of voice was a little odd, then dismissed it, thinking his daughter was probably tired.

"Are you staying for lunch, Dad?" asked Ginny, desperate to change the subject.

"No, I just brought some things back with Bill," he smiled. "Then I'm going to have lunch with your mother, before getting back to work."

"Things?" asked Fleur, wanting to know what had been brought back.

"Yeah, Dad had this shed for us, but didn't have the time to bring over the parts until now, what with the War and all," said Bill.

"A shed?" asked Fleur. "Why do we need a shed?"

"A shed is a very useful building," said Mr. Weasley, then he saw Fleur giving him a look that he was more accustomed to receiving from his own wife. "Anyway, I must be going, your mum will be wondering where I've got to." He made to walk out of the kitchen, then turned. "Hermione, can I have quick a word, before I leave?"

Hermione looked at Ginny, surprised, but walked out of the door with Mr. Weasley. "Anything wrong?" she asked, as they walked into the garden.

"I think perhaps only you can answer that," he said, but in a kind voice. "This whole thing between yourself and Ron, and Ginny, it can't go on. I'm talking to you about it because I don't think Ginny would say anything to me. But, someone has to begin sorting this out."

"I know, it's just a bit difficult. And...and to be perfectly honest, I'm not sure it will ever heal between us."

"Why ever not?" asked Mr. Weasley. "I realize, as does Molly, that it probably concerns you and Ginny going off on your travels and not taking Ron. If everyone would all swallow their pride and realize what really matters: family, friends and love. It's more important than whether you get the limelight or not, or preferred one companion over another."

Hermione had almost coughed over the mention of 'love' and again on preferring a 'companion', knowing how closely it hit the mark. "It's more complicated than that," she managed to say.

"I don't see how? After everything we've all been through together, surely you can all find a way to get along. Maybe you could even find a way to go out with Ron again?"

"Err...no, I don't think that will happen now," said Hermione, after intially wanting to choke.

"I'm saying this with your best intentions, but Molly and I want yourself, Ginny and Ron to talk with us, together. I've been given the afternoon off on Friday, and I hope you'll agree to come and talk with us then."

"Not all three of us, together?" asked a horrified Hermione. "I'm sorry, but that would be a disaster!"

"I'll say it clearly," said Mr. Weasley, with a tired sigh. "This situation can not go on. We feel we deserve to know what's happened, why there was such enmity between Ron and Ginny after the funeral. Why Ron is going around with hardly a word to say to us. Why Ginny seems happier to stay here instead of at the Burrow. We've lost so much and to be perfectly honest with you, I hate to see what it's doing to Molly."

"I'm...I'm sorry," said Hermione, feeling very awkward. "I'm sorry any of this is happening and that it's upset so many people."

"Please, will you come and talk with us? At least come over for a cup of tea?"

Sighing, knowing that Ginny would probably freak out at the idea, she nodded. "Okay, Ginny and I will come over, but I can't guarantee we'll say much. I'll have to talk with her about it all."

"Fine, do what you must, but we'll be pleased to see you," said Mr. Weasley, as he walked away and Disapparated.

_I don't know if he'll be so pleased to see us if we tell him the truth? _thought Hermione. _Maybe it's a good opportunity to just blurt it out and get it over with?_

When Hermione walked back into Shell Cottage, three curious faces greeted her. "What did he want?" asked Ginny.

Hermione flopped down in an armchair. "He wants you and me to go over to the Burrow on Friday afternoon. He said to talk, but at the very least we'll be drinking tea."

"Talk?" asked Ginny. "Friday? But that's only three days away!"

"I know, but he wants to know what our problem is with Ron. He said your mum is getting really upset about it all...and...and it made me feel really shitty," said Hermione, exhaling a deep sigh. "So I said we'd go over, but I'd have to talk with you first about it all."

"Will Ron be there?"

"I think your dad would like him to be, but as I said it might be a disaster if he was, he might change that line of thought. Anyway, he's got the afternoon off that day so that's where we'll be going."

"Just to add my input," said Bill. "And it's plainly obvious, but, I think you've found your opening to talk to them and tell them."

"It sounded so wonderful when we spoke about that before," said Hermione. "Now, it sounds really unappealing!"

"I know what you mean," said Ginny, deep in thought.

"Well, you both know you can stay here if things get a bit...a bit...tense," said Fleur. "I think you should take this opportunity. The longer you leave it, the harder it will be to face and you'll keep finding reasons to block that path."

"You're right," said Hermione. "I know you're right. What do you think, Ginny?"

"That I wish I could go back to being a WAAF called Joan Townsend in 1943!" said Ginny, with nearly a straight face.

Despite the serious conversation, Hermione couldn't help laughing. "At this very moment, I think that _does _sound more appealing."

Ginny gave a tired groan. "The more we keep putting it off the more we'll try to avoid it. That isn't going to make anything easier. Soooo...I think we should go to the Burrow with the intention of telling them. If things aren't quite right, or Ron's there and acting like a pork chop, then we might have to tell them another day. But for the moment I think we should tell them."

Hermione slowly nodded her head as she stared at Ginny. "Okay then, that's what we'll do."


	69. Confessions

**A/N: It's been fascinating to see what ideas and predictions people have about this story, and how many guess right and how many are miles away from what I've created. It should be noted that I never change any of my story regardless of what people want to happen or think will happen. I've followed my own agenda...which meant whatever nonsense my head came up with. :) In any case, the story is finished, so my original 'plot(s)' has remained. I've had to check this chapter a bit faster than my usual snail pace, so excuse any glaring mistakes/typos.**

**The way I made Hermione lock away thoughts about her parents before, was taken from real life, from the extraordinary brave women (and men) of the SOE (Special Operations Executive) in WW2. Acting as operatives in occupied France, always one step away from being caught by the Gestapo. A lot of them had to act as though they had no family, because they would not have been able to do their job and keep their mind alert if they were always pining for their loved ones at home, so they 'locked' the thoughts away in the back of their mind. Some of the women even had young children, but they couldn't keep thinking 'oh I miss my kids, I miss my family' because it could have been enough to drop their guard and be discovered.**

**Please note:**** As mentioned in an earlier chapter ****I do not read Guest reviews**** anymore. I go to my account once a day and if there are any reviews to moderate, I check the red 'delete' box and do not read a word of them. I've noticed lately that I've been checking a few more boxes, so Guest reviewers please don't waste you time, because I neither read nor approve Guest reviews anymore. It's thanks to trolls wasting **_**my**_** time and ruining it for others. **

69: Confessions

The rest of the day, Ginny and Hermione tried to relax. They went for a walk along the beach, with Hermione stopping briefly to prod around in a rock pool again. Although trying to avoid thinking about going to the Burrow, it came up into conversation, often followed by silence as they both became thoughtful.

"Look," said Hermione. "I think we know the worst case scenario. Your parents take things completely badly, demand I leave and never want you to see me again, or something along those lines."

"Shit, I hope that isn't the result," said Ginny.

"So do I, but we must prepare ourselves for things going badly, even if it's only for a little while."

That evening they enjoyed dinner with Bill and Fleur. The latter had been away most of the afternoon and had brought back a variety of items, some muggle, some magical. She'd brought back a stack of muggle newspapers, firstly to check for any oddities that might still be happening courtesy of Death Eaters, which she suddenly seemed to have a lot of interest in, and secondly, thinking Hermione would like to read some muggle news.

The next day was very uneventful, although, before going out Hermione and Ginny cast the patronus charm, wondering if things had gone back to normal. Hermione cast her usual otter and Ginny's patronus had returned to her horse. They both surmised that now the circumstances were more stable and their secret was known to at least four people, that their patronuses no longer needed to morph into their lover's form. After their patronus experiment was completed, they went for a long walk and the day after that, the Thursday, they ended up in the muggle town nearby. It looked like a very normal place, going about its normal everyday business.

"They have no idea," said Hermione, as she looked around the town.

"About Hogwarts?" asked Ginny.

"Yeah. You'd never know anything as huge as that Battle had ever happened. It's nearly as strange here as being back in 1943."

"The more and more I think on things, I'm beginning to wonder if our time there wasn't simpler than this?"

"Less complicated," said Hermione. "Certainly less complicated in certain areas, anyway."

Acquiring some muggle money from Bill and Fleur in exchange for some of the galleons left from Dumbledore's generous gift, Hermione bought some items of clothing as she'd been very limited since first going off with Harry and Ron. They finished up going into a newsagents where Hermione bought a selection of magazines for herself to take back with them, along with some muggle chocolate bars for everyone.

Neither of Ginny's parents had visited anymore, but when they got back nearing dinner time, an owl had come from the Burrow with Mrs. Weasley's reminder about them visiting the next day.

"Does she think we'll forget?" asked Ginny.

"Yes, or that you'll pretend you've forgotten," said Bill.

Later on, before going to bed, Hermione decided to go up earlier and take a shower first. As Hermione went upstairs, Fleur following to find up some clean towels, Bill asked Ginny to come and talk to him a moment.

"Are you worried about tomorrow, sis?"

"Of course I am," Ginny answered. "Hermione and I have discussed the worst things that can happen, but it doesn't really make it any easier."

"No, I imagine not," Bill paused then added, "I meant every word, you and Hermione always have a home here if you need it."

"Thanks," said Ginny, surprised that she had welled up a little.

"It's none of my business, but have you...,"

"No we haven't! We said we wouldn't here, and we haven't!" said Ginny, going red.

"I know, I trust you," said Bill with a smile. "I was actually going to ask, and be very nosy, about whether anything _happened_ while you were away?"

"Bill!?" groaned Ginny, blushing even more.

"Sorry, just an older brother wanting to check up on things."

With another strained groan of embarrassment, Ginny couldn't quite believe herself when she nodded her head and said, "Yes, we have."

"Oh."

"You think I don't know what I'm doing? I'm too young? That I shouldn't have been so fast to...to...well, you know? You think it was all Hermione and that she took advantage, that she seduced me?"

Bill burst out laughing. "Sorry, Ginny," he said, controlling himself again. "I didn't mean to laugh. But when you think about what you left at Hogwarts, I bet you never thought those sentences would pass your lips a few weeks later?"

"Um...no," Ginny had to give a little laugh too. "I know, it's all crazy. But I want you to know that no one pressured the other, or coerced or seduced, or any of that. It happened naturally. We talked a lot and did take things slowly, but the more twisted our tasks became the more we relied on each other and the closer we became, and when we did get...even _closer, _it happened because...because it was meant to, and needed to happen." She almost whispered the last few words.

Feeling much more serious again, Bill studied his sister, not quite believing the conversation he was having with her. He always thought he'd be checking up on her boyfriends and giving her lectures about things, not talking with her after the biggest battle in magical history about her _girl_friend. "You didn't have to tell me," he said.

"I know, but it seems I just did," smiled Ginny. "I imagine you're nearly as uncomfortable as me, talking about it?"

"Uncomfortable? No, not really," said Bill. "It all takes some getting used to. And really, it's not that big a deal if you have been _very _intimate with Hermione, because you're legal age. Hermione is also someone I trust, and I can't ever see her treating you badly and certainly not seducing you or any of that kind of thing!"

"Ron asked me that," said Ginny. "I think he's trying to work out which of us is to blame. Because he's had to see more of me, I think he's blaming me the most at the moment."

"I'm sure he won't act like that forever," said Bill.

They heard the bathroom door open upstairs as Hermione had finished showering. "I'll go up and take a shower myself, now," said Ginny, walking a step or two towards the stairs, then she stopped, turned to her brother again, and went back to hug him. "Thanks Bill. Thanks for just being you."

"Any time, sis," he said, returning the hug.

After Ginny had had her shower and was getting into bed next to Hermione, she told her about the conversation she'd had with her brother.

"Oh," said Hermione, wondering if she would feel very embarrassed when she spoke to Bill the next day, knowing that _he _knew she and Ginny had slept together.

"Hey, don't worry," said Ginny. "He was really good about it all. He said he trusts you and that I'm of legal age to...um...do that...so he didn't have any problem with it."

"I'm still not sure I'd want to...,"

"Me neither," said Ginny, guessing what Hermione was thinking. "I don't think Bill or Fleur would be that worried if it did happen, but I wouldn't feel comfortable doing _that_ here. Plus we did promise them, and I want to show them that we deserve their trust and respect."

"I agree completely. They _have_ been so good to us both," said Hermione, as she kissed Ginny's cheek.

"Of course, I might have crotch-rot by the time we ever get to sleep together again," said Ginny, with a frustrated little laugh.

"Crotch-rot?" Hermione laughed. "I hope not!"

Leaning over Ginny, looking into her eyes, still smiling at each other, Hermione kissed the redhead. It was a very deep and meaningful kiss, every touch of lips and tongue meaning a hundred things and both feeling a thousand tingling sensations.

When Hermione made to break apart, Ginny stopped her from moving. "It might be the last time I kiss you for a day or two, if things go arse-up tomorrow, can I have one more kiss?"

Hermione had had the same thought going through her head too, and without needing to think further she lowered her head and captured Ginny's lips again. She had a hand between them resting on Ginny's chest, and gently kneaded the breast beneath her hand, wishing they could be rid of their clothes and feel each other naked.

Slowly and reluctantly they parted again. "I wish we never had to stop," said a sad Ginny.

"I know," replied Hermione. "We'll have to be patient."

With a last peck of a kiss on Ginny's lips, Hermione rolled back, and made herself comfortable as Ginny automatically rested up against her. _It always feels so right when we sleep in the same bed together, _Hermione thought, contented. _Please let tomorrow go well. Mr. and Mrs. Weasley probably won't be as quick to accept us, as Bill and Fleur did, but please let it be only shock, followed by rational thought._

XXXXXXXXXX

After a very normal night, followed a reasonably normal morning, except if a person watched closely, the nervousness in both Ginny and Hermione was very apparent. Bill and Fleur could sense the tension and kept conversation to safe subjects. Bill was going to the Ministry, his new job already demanding, but he reminded the two girls that he and Fleur would support them, whatever happened.

As the afternoon arrived, Hermione could feel her heart begin to beat faster and her neck feel stiff; lots of calming breaths helped, but she couldn't avoid the unavoidable. Standing in the bedroom, having changed ready for the afternoon, Hermione and Ginny shared a short kiss.

"We've faced Gaunt, Riddle, Borgin, Hepzibah Smith, Bellatrix, and you've faced the later Voldemort too," said Ginny. "My parents aren't as scary as them."

"True, but they're _your _parents. Apart from your dream, they wouldn't ever feel scary to you," said Hermione.

"Wanna bet?!" smiled Ginny. "But I'm just saying, in the scheme of things, in perspective, they surely aren't as scary as Gaunt or Bellatrix?"

"You're right, of course you are," sighed Hermione. "I suppose we'd better go now."

Hermione Side-Along Apparated Ginny to the Burrow, after Bill insisted they keep to the rules, which Fleur reminded them of as they walked through the kitchen to go outside. Bill's new job position did make it difficult for him to condone Apparating by an untested underage witch. The two women Apparated into the Burrow's yard, and stood a couple of moments for Ginny to clear her head, before making their way to the door, opening it and walking into the kitchen.

"Hi Mum," said Ginny. "It's only us."

Mrs. Weasley had been in the kitchen, preparing a pot of tea. "Ginny!" she said, walking over to hug her daughter, then Hermione.

"I thought I heard voices," said Mr. Weasley, as he walked through to the kitchen.

"Dad, is Ron here?" asked Ginny.

"No, not at the moment," her father replied. "I decided that it might be best if you were able to talk to us without him here. He's at Harry's anyway."

Ginny nodded. "I think it's for the best."

"Well, come on through," said Mr. Weasley, as he headed back to the living room and sat down in his usual armchair.

Ginny and Hermione sat on the sofa, and Mrs. Weasley brought through a tray containing cups of tea and biscuits, setting it onto the coffee table before sitting in a chair next to her husband.

"How have you been?" asked Mrs. Weasley.

"Err...fine," said Ginny. "We were only at Bill's for a few days."

"I've missed you," said her mother. "It's felt like you've been gone much longer than that."

A slightly uncomfortable silence ensued, which a nervous sip of tea from Hermione did nothing to defuse.

"This is silly," said Mr. Weasley, after several minutes. "We all know why we're here, or hopefully the reason we're here. Ginny, Hermione, we'd like you to tell us what's going on between you and Ron. What's happened to cause it all? Maybe we can help you all?"

"I don't think you can," said Hermione, as she set down her cup of tea. "I don't even know where to start?"

"I think we can only start at the reasons for what's upset Ron," said Ginny to Hermione. "I'll try to explain it."

"It seems the only place to start," said Mrs. Weasley. "What's made Ron so hateful against you both?"

"He didn't like it that Hermione didn't tell him about the possibility she would be involved in what McGonagall and Flitwick called a 'Back-up' plan," said Ginny. "He didn't like it that Hermione took me with her rather than him, even though it all happened in a mad rush and there wasn't time to deliberate over it."

"You've told me this before," said Mrs. Weasley. "We'd guessed as much on that part. It would explain why he's annoyed with you both, but...but wishing you dead instead of Fred? Did you say something to rub it in? To upset him more than was necessary?"

"Not exactly," said Ginny.

"If it _is_ something like that, then surely you can find a way to make your peace with him? And Hermione, I know how much Ron cares for you; isn't there some way you can reconcile yourselves?" Mrs. Weasley said in a weary tone.

"It's not that simple," said Hermione. "And if I were Ron, I'm not sure I'd be acting all that much differently."

Mr and Mrs. Weasley looked at each other, confused. "Well, what's not simple? What is this 'complicated' thing you've kept saying since you got back?" asked Mrs. Weasley.

Hermione looked to Ginny, and the red-haired girl nodded her head as if to say 'I'll give it a go'. "Mum, Dad, the thing I'm going to tell you might not be something you've ever considered, and I don't expect you to approve of it either. But we want to tell you instead of keeping it back and ending up avoiding it for too long."

"You can tell us anything, love," said her father. "We're your parents."

"We want you to know, that we both thought about it at great length, had feelings of immense guilt and some painful dreams to accompany it too. We talked about it in depth, and nothing was out of control, but things just happened. We were gone from your Hogwarts for half an hour, but to us we were away for around three weeks, and those weeks felt like months. We only had each other to rely on, and that's when the truth of things became very clear."

"Truth?" asked Mrs. Weasley. "I'm not quite following, dear?"

"The thing is, Hermione and I...we're together," said Ginny, feeling her chest tighten with tension.

"Together?" asked her mother.

"Hermione is my guh...er...girlfriend."

"I don't..." Mrs. Weasley was cut off by her husband.

"Are you really?" Mr. Weasley asked Hermione.

"Yes," Hermione said in a very quiet voice.

"Well, that explains a lot," sighed Mr. Weasley.

"Arthur, what are you talking about?" asked his wife.

"Molly, our daughter no longer has a boyfriend, she has a girlfriend, called Hermione," he said, with the slightest of smiles.

"What?!" exclaimed Mrs. Weasley. "How?! Since when?!"

Ginny was blushing profusely, as was Hermione. "It was while we were away, Mum. We didn't look for it and I was incredibly upset over Harry and even now I feel guilty about it. But every day we spent there, the bond between us got stronger and stronger, until it...it became what we know to be love. And even with Harry back and all that wonderful stuff, what we have is incredibly strong. What we feel for each other is stronger than anything either of us has felt before. I've never felt this strongly about any other thing in my life." _Shit, did I use enough variations on the word 'strong'? _thought Ginny, annoyed at her lack of concise sentences.

"What about Harry? Does he know?" asked Mr. Weasley, as his wife was taking in the new information.

"Yes, he does. Talking with him, we think he was actually in my dreams, a real part of him was there. He says that he just knew and it was like he'd known for days. He'd obviously prefer me to be with him, but he says he won't cause any trouble or anything."

"He's an amazing young man," said Mr. Weasley. "Still, it's a little disappointing that you and he won't be together."

"I know, Dad. I do love him, but not in the way that I used to. Not in the way I...the way I feel about Hermione."

"So, I gather that Ron knows about _all_ of it, then?" asked Mr. Weasley, making sure of the facts. "And _that's_ why he's acting like he is?"

"I told him," said Hermione, feeling a little nauseous from it all. "He thought something was odd when Harry gave a reason for why our patronuses had swapped." She went on to tell the Weasley parents about patronus lore which had caused it. Mr. Weasley appeared to be taking the news calmly and didn't seem to be unduly worried about it. Mrs. Weasley had gone very quiet and was watching as everyone else spoke.

"So, this is the main reason for all the confrontations?" asked Mr. Weasley.

"Yes. He _is_ miffed about not going with Hermione too, but it's mostly because of us being together," said Ginny. "I imagine this is a bit of shock?"

"A shock?" said her father. "Not really. When you started talking I thought you were about to confess to using the _Avada Kedavra_ curse on someone, or multiple someones. You telling us you're together, is nowhere near as bad as what parents fear most in these situations."

"Er...we did use the _Imperius _curse," said Hermione. "We spoke with Dumbledore about it in 1997. We used it on Hepzibah, only long enough to swap the Cup. We don't like the fact we used it, but Dumbledore seems to think it was one of the occasions when it was okay."

"The things Dumbledore expected of you!?" said Mr. Weasley with admiration for his daughter and her friend, now her girlfriend. "The things you had to do are beyond most witches and wizards I know."

Ginny had noticed that her mother was just staring at them all and not saying much. "Mum, are you okay?"

"I'm not sure," said her mother in a flat, even voice. "My daughter tells me she's in love with my son's girlfriend and I'm supposed to be..._okay_?"

"I know it will take some getting used to...," mumbled Ginny, not able to look at what she knew was her less than happy mother.

"Getting used to?" said Mrs. Weasley. "There'll be no getting used to it here. You're going to end this silly...whatever it is you call it, and preferably go back to your boyfriends."

"WHAT?!" said Ginny, stunned.

"You heard me," said her mother. "I can understand how stress and grief can make you act, but this isn't the way to go about things."

"Molly...," began Mr. Weasley, but he was cut off.

"Don't be so ridiculous Arthur! They were away a couple of weeks and yet you accept that they can cast off Ron and Harry and _know _they're in love? Utter rubbish. Your daughter's sixteen, in case you've forgotten?! To even acknowledge the confused musings of a teenager is...,"

"Mum, I'm not confused! I know what all of this means," said Ginny.

"As do I," said Hermione.

"Frankly, you should have known better, Hermione!" said Mrs. Weasley sternly. "Whatever you _think_ you felt, you should have known not to pursue it."

"How do I do that, when...when everything in my mind and body is telling me I love Ginny?!" said a truly flabbergasted Hermione.

"No wonder poor Ron was so upset. Having you two come back, flaunting this fantasy you've both created!" said Mrs. Weasley, shaking her head.

"Molly, I really think you...," Mr. Weasley was talked over again, however.

"No wonder you wanted to stay at Bill's so desperately?!" said Mrs. Weasley to her daughter. It appeared she was making up for her earlier silence now. "I suppose you're sharing a bed there?"

"Nothing's happened!" said Ginny quickly. "We respect Bill and Fleur too much for that."

"Merlin's beard, to think you we even _thinking_ of it?! That's stopping right now!" said Mrs. Weasley adamantly.

"Mum, you can't. You haven't been listening to us. This isn't a fantasy, it's real. I love Hermione," said Ginny, close to tears.

"Ginny you're sixteen! You hardly know what colour socks you want to wear in the morning, let alone what love is?!" Mrs. Weasley continued to castigate her daughter.

"You and Dad were young when you got together?!" offered Ginny.

"She has a point there, Molly," said Arthur Weasley, who received a glare from his wife in return.

"No she doesn't!" said Molly. "If we could have done things differently, there's no way we would have got together and got hitched so fast."

"We _wouldn't_ have?" asked a surprised Mr. Weasley.

"What we did back then, has nothing to do with Ginny here and now!" said Mrs. Weasley, before turning to Ginny once more. "To think your childishness has ripped this family apart."

"Childishness? Ripped the family apart?" said a shocked Ginny. "I haven't..."

"As if Fred dying wasn't enough. It will remain to be seen if you've hurt Ron permanently now. What were you thinking?!" her mother carried on.

"I can't take much more of this," said Ginny, a tear now working its way down her cheek. "We're going back to Shell Cottage."

"No you're not, my girl!" said her mother. "You're staying here!"

"Mum, you can't make...,"

"Do I make myself clear? You are staying HERE!" Mrs. Weasley almost shrieked, her wand in her hand all of a sudden.

Hermione's eyes were welling up with tears too and she turned to Ginny. "I think I should go."

"I hope you won't be staying at Bill's tonight?" asked Mrs. Weasley, glaring at Hermione.

"Molly, she hasn't anywhere else to stay," said Arthur, gently.

"The Leaky Cauldron always has rooms, doesn't it?" said Mrs. Weasley.

"I'll go. It's fine," said Hermione, standing up.

Ginny stood up and grabbed Hermione's arm. "You can't go, don't leave Bill's. Just because Mum's being a bloody idiot about everything."

"Ginny Weasley! I won't be talked about like that in my own house, go to your room!" said Mrs. Weasley. "NOW!"

"It's fine," said Hermione, again, completely shell-shocked by events. "We'll work something out. You'd better do as your mum says."

"Fine! I'm going to my room," said Ginny, then she glared at her mother. "I wish I was back in the 1940's where you weren't even born, so I didn't have to deal with YOU, or ever set my eyes on YOU again! YOU DERANGED OLD HAG!" she shouted at her mother, before she ran up the stairs to her room.

Molly Weasley had tears streaming down her face, as she sniffled and hiccoughed. Arthur held his wife, looked to Hermione and just nodded to her. The brunette didn't wait around any longer and made her way to the kitchen door and to the yard. Every part of her wanted to stay and go to Ginny's room to comfort her lover, to hold her, and yet here she was having to walk in the opposite direction; and it was physically painful, heartbreakingly so.

_How can Mr. Weasley be so kind and accepting and Mrs. Weasley so angry and hateful? _thought Hermione. _She didn't listen to a word we said...not really listen, to know how truthful we'd been with them. _

Apparating to the garden of Shell Cottage, Hermione didn't immediately walk into the house and went to Dobby's grave for a little while. _What would you think of us? _she thought, as if talking to the elf. _You wouldn't have judged us, or seen anything other than the goodness of close friendship and love. If only everyone had your temperament._

Nearly thirty minutes or so had passed and Hermione finally decided to go into the house; every step she walked was another step further from Ginny, and it felt as though she were walking through tar. A couple of stray tears newly wetted her cheeks, as she walked through the door.

Fleur was at the kitchen table with a couple of books and oddly, a muggle calculator, going through receipts, and she looked up to see an upset Hermione. An upset Hermione, alone. "Hermione? What happened?"

Flopping down on a chair, using a tissue from the box Fleur offered to her, Hermione ran a hand through her hair and took a couple of breaths. "Mr. Weasley was fine, he seemed to accept us straight away, but Mrs. Weasley..."

"Not so accommodating?"

"She doesn't believe it and says it's got to stop, and that we should go back to our boyfriends. She's making Ginny stay at the Burrow and it's obvious she doesn't want us to have any opportunity to be together."

"At least you can stay here," said Fleur, as she reached across and held one of Hermione's hands.

Hermione shook her head. "Mrs. Weasley wants me to leave here too, by tonight."

"That woman has no authority in this house!" Fleur said. "The cheek of her to think she can order what Bill and I do in our own home!?"

"I don't want to cause any more trouble," said Hermione. "I don't want to make things harder than they have to be."

"That Weasley woman is the one making things harder for everyone!"

"I don't think she really knows what she's thinking. I'm hoping this is some sort of shock reaction. But when I left she was pretty upset, I don't..."

"Yes she _was_ bloody upset!"

Hermione and Fleur turned to see Ron standing in the doorway. "Ron? What are you doing here?" asked Hermione.

"I should be asking _you_ that," said Ron. "I believe Mum wanted you to leave Bill's? I wanted to see if you'd gone yet."

"Ron, this is not your house, nor your mother's. You can't order people around in here," said Fleur.

"I don't think you understand things. Hermione and Ginny are..."

"Together? Yes, we know," said Fleur, with a smug expression.

"You know?" asked Ron, mildly stalled in his thoughts.

"Yes, and we're fine with it."

"Mum won't be happy," said Ron. "To think you're going against what she wants. She'd call that disloyalty."

"RON! How does my staying here make Bill and Fleur disloyal?" asked a now weary Hermione. "This isn't a war. Voldemort's gone. The Battle is over, although, going by your mother today I'd say otherwise. She was so unreasonable and hurtful. I don't care about myself, but the way she spoke to Ginny, she was acting like a mad old bat." Hermione hadn't meant to insult Mrs. Weasley, but her own anger was beginning to surface and she blurted it out

"Don't you dare talk about my mother like that!" Ron said. "You ungrateful..."

"What? Ungrateful what?" asked Hermione. "Tart? Slag? Bitch? Your dad couldn't have been nicer, but just because your mum decided to take things all wrong, everyone's acting like war's been declared again!"

Ron studied Hermione a moment. "When Harry and I first met you, we thought you were odd. We gave you some slack because we felt sorry for you. I think the warning signs were back then; we should have shunned you and not bothered."

"Ron!" exclaimed Fleur. "If it wasn't for Hermione, both you and Harry would have been killed years ago."

"Well, I wouldn't have had my life so fucked up!" he said. "And at least if I were dead I wouldn't have to look at her!"

Hermione had balled her hands into fists, but now stood up and took a swing at Ron with her right fist, landing a punch to his face, hard, making him stagger. Almost in a reflex action, Ron punched her back, making her stumble. Hermione put a hand to her stinging, throbbing face, and stuck out an arm to the table, to stop herself from falling.

"STOP IT!" Fleur nearly screamed, drawing her wand to prevent further scuffling.

"Tell _her_ to stop it!" said Ron childishly, holding his own face. "We'd all have been better if Ginny had left her to die back in time, then my family wouldn't have had to endure all this shit!"

Not able to take anymore, Hermione ran from Shell Cottage, wanting to get away from everyone, but most especially Ron.

"Hermione?!" Fleur called after her.

Hermione didn't look back and Disapparated, desperately wanting to shut herself away from the cruel and twisted world she was currently in; to shut herself away with her own company.

**A/N: In my other story I made both Weasley parents accepting without question, for this one I wanted something different and it kind of happened without me having to think too hard about it. Like a lot of this story, I typed and let it happen how it wanted to. :) All I can say is don't judge Mrs. Weasley too harshly, even if you do want to slap her at the moment. :) As for Ron, please feel free to imagine doing something painful to him. LOL**


	70. Discovery

**A/N(Sorry a long-ish one): I thought I'd get this chapter out faster, as I have a couple of appointments early next week and might not feel up to posting a chapter for a few days.**

**Soooo, 99.9% of people were okay with chapter 69. :)**

**I seem to have severely pissed off one reviewer, although their accusations don't make a lot of sense. I'm not trying to make huge political statements here, this is a fanfiction not a message on equality and world peace. :) Besides which I believe I haven't portrayed anything I'm being accused of. Nevermind, can't please everyone...water under bridges and off ducks' backs. :)**

**The Ron and Hermione scuffle was extremely natural(and most people PMing me have totally understood that and had no trouble with it). The tension between them has been building and building since Ron found out about H & G. What with the Battle and bereavement, that exchange was the peak of the tension. It doesn't mean I condone violence as a method to sort out anything, or I'm sexist or any of the other things I've been accused of. :) This chapter will have another peak, and if you've experienced a few decades of life you'll know that it's all quite plausible. Life isn't always politically correct however much we'd like and want it to be and certainly not when emotions are running high and love is involved. :) (I'm sure I'll get another lot of accusations after this chapter, then. :D There's always the block option I suppose...hehehe. :)) **

**I think there's a couple of parts of this chapter that might be very popular...well, maybe to 99.9% of my readers. :) LOL (Whoops, that means I'm ignoring a minority?! Bad me!) Thinking on that, JKR really had a lot of guts to kill off Lupin and Tonks, as she must have been inundated with people telling her she was mad, or had a fixation for orphans, or was committing child abuse by killing off all these well-loved adults. LOL**

70: Discovery

Ginny was on her bed, hugging her pillow and crying her frustration and hurt into it. _I didn't expect Mum and Dad to like the idea, or approve, but for Mum to act like that..., _she thought, _it's beyond belief! _She was badly missing Hermione the moment she reached her room, and wanted nothing more than to be with her, to hold her and be held back and leave the troubles of the outside world behind.

What might have been an hour or two later, as Ginny had begun to doze off, there was a knock on her door. "I don't want to talk!" she said curtly.

"It's me," said the voice of her father. "Please let me talk to you?"

It was a relief to the red-haired girl when she heard the voice and that it wasn't her mother. She picked up her wand and waved it at the bedroom door; she had used her own variation of a locking charm on it, to try and deter her mother. "Come in," she called.

Mr. Weasley walked in and closed the door behind him and sat on the bed, with Ginny sitting up against the headboard, her legs stretched out. "Things didn't go that well, did they?" he said.

Straight away Ginny laughed, at the absurdity of the understatement; her father was laughing along with her. "You _could_ say that, Dad!"

"I'm sorry, love," he said kindly. "I had no idea your mum would react like that."

"Why...why didn't you feel the same? Or do you agree with Mum and just didn't show it?"

"I watched you as you spoke, as Hermione spoke. You were both so scared, yet I could see that the care you had for each other was real. Why should it be wrong for any two people to love each other?"

"Um...maybe because we're two girls together?" offered Ginny.

"What did we just fight this war for?" Mr. Weasley asked.

"As far as I know it wasn't to free lesbians!?"

Mr. Weasley chuckled. "No, not precisely, but Voldemort and all his kind wanted a pureblood supremacy. Part of that was wanting to control which people in our world could be together and that a muggle and a witch, or a wizard and a muggle, should not be allowed in any circumstances. We fought to free everyone in the magical world from that, to stop that happening. How can I fight for that cause, but then forbid my daughter to love another girl? To forbid her from loving whomsoever she chooses, regardless of magical background, colour or sex? That would make me a hypocrite. That would make me no better than a Death Eater in some ways."

"I hadn't thought of it like that," said Ginny. "Obviously Mum hasn't either. I always thought she would accept and try to understand anything, and I thought she'd be above narrow-minded nonsense. I didn't expect her or you to _like,_ or be comfortable with this situation, but I didn't think she'd act like that either?!"

"I think you took her by surprise, mostly," said Mr. Weasley. "And like a cornered animal she lashed out. Her bark always was worse than her bite," he grinned.

"Dad...I'm...I'm sorry I spoke to her the way I did...I...," Ginny sighed, feeling a little tearful again. "I was just so angry with her and so upset for Hermione too."

"I know, sweetheart," he said, softly.

"What am I going to do?" said Ginny. "All I want, is to be with Hermione. I _do_ love her, Dad, honestly I do. It's not some phase or some novelty...when...when I'm apart from her my chest aches, really aches."

Arthur Weasley sat further up the bed and held one of his daughter's hands. "Why don't you go and find her?" he said. "Maybe you can enjoy some time in London with her, stay at The Leaky Cauldron with her for a few days. It's as safe there as anywhere."

Ginny looked at her dad in surprise. "What about Mum? She told me to stay here. She looked like she was going to hex me if I so much as moved towards a door!?"

"Let me deal with your mum," said her father. "Besides, I don't think it's right that Hermione should be left on her own like that, with no family. It's awful to think on, especially after what you both went through to help our cause."

"But what happens then? I want things to be right between Mum and me," said Ginny, sadly. "I don't expect either of you to approve over what's happened, but I can't bear the thought that every time I come home that Mum leaves the room or doesn't let me in."

"As I said, let me deal with her, trust me," he smiled. "Anyway, Ron should be back home again today, after spending a day or two with Harry, so it might be better if you gave him some space, as you did before."

Ginny nodded. "Yeah, I can't imagine he'll be any better with things yet, even if he only glares at..."

"ARTHUR?!" shouted Mrs. Weasley up the stairs. "ARTHUR, I need you downstairs, now!"

"What's got her yelling again?" wondered Ginny.

"I'd better go down and see," said Mr. Weasley as he stood up. "I'll come back in a few minutes and I can take you to Bill's or The Leaky Cauldron, okay?" He leaned over and kissed the top of Ginny's head and left through the door.

"Thanks, Dad," replied Ginny as he left.

Curious, and wondering whether her mum was going to tear a strip off her dad, for coming to talk with her, Ginny waited a few moments and then crept out of her room and down the stairs, staying hidden from sight, but able to see some of the living room and hear the conversation.

"...you shouldn't have done that," said Mr. Weasley, sternly.

"I know, Dad, I know. It just happened...all right?!,"

_That's Ron! _thought Ginny, badly wanting to look at the scene, but making sure she kept even more out of sight. _What's he done now? Told Harry to piss off or something, no doubt?! Although...he's not ranting and raving, he sounds like he's snivelling..._

"I've really messed up this time," said Ron.

"Well, you have every reason to be upset," said their mother.

"Molly...," said her husband, with a disapproving tone.

"Arthur, I don't understand you sometimes. Can't you see what it's done to Ron, don't you care about your family?"

"Everything I've said or done recently, is because I care about this family," said Mr. Weasley with a slightly raised voice. "As I was telling Ginny a few minutes ago, I didn't fight for the Order, to beat Voldemort, but then turn around and shun my daughter because the person she loves is another girl. It's no better than telling a pureblood that they can't marry a muggle. Yes it's awkward that it happens to have been Ron's choice of girl, but we can't make people choose which people they want to be with, that would be no better than Voldemort!"

"Oh Arthur, that's hardly the same thing!" replied his wife. "How can you compare Voldemort with this situation, don't be ridiculous, that's not...,"

"He's right, Mum," said Ron, surprising everyone. Ginny was very close to popping her head around from her hiding place, wondering if she'd heard correctly. "You can't make people choose. I realize that now. However much you love someone, you can't make them love you back, even if you always _thought_ they loved you the same."

"Ronald! How can you sit there with a bruised face and say that, after the way Hermione's treated you?" said his mother.

_Bruised face? _thought Ginny. _Hermione hit him? _When _did she do that? _Where_ did she do that?_

"I hit her back, Mum. I'm the one who should be apologizing...or locked up!"

_Ron hit Hermione?! _Ginny stood up, as something snapped within her, and she couldn't stop herself from bursting into the living room. "YOU HIT HERMIONE?!" she shouted at her brother.

"Ginny, this isn't the place, go back...," But Mrs. Weasley wasn't able to finish her sentence.

All the pent up tension and anger at Ron had festered inside Ginny, along with the general emotions of everything that had happened since the Battle, and most especially that afternoon. She charged up to her brother, and all her pain manifested itself into her right fist as she gave him a punch, unfortunately for him, right across the same place Hermione had hit him. "YOU ARSEHOLE!" she shouted, as her fist connected with his face.

Ron sprawled back in the chair dazed, as Ginny punched him again, harder than before, this time causing a small cut to open on Ron's cheek. "I didn't mean to," he said, completely subdued and almost amicable, holding up his hands in front of his face expecting another punch.

The drawing of blood had abruptly stopped Ginny from doing more. As angry as she was, she found herself slightly shocked at her actions and then angry again that she'd been provoked so easily. _What am I doing? _she thought. _It feels good, but it feels bloody awful too. Harry was right, love is insane! It makes us act completely loopy!_ Before she could consider what she was really feeling and why, her father had quickly gone to her side and gently held her, so she couldn't move her arms, trying to prevent anymore sibling damage. Mrs. Weasley looked on, stunned, although her wand was in her hand, prepared to separate her children if it had been needed.

"Of course, it's your bloody fault, for all of this!" Ron tried to sting at his sister suddenly, from behind his hands, but the words actually sounded hollow, as if his heart wasn't really in them. "...shit happens," he mumbled, feeling safe enough to drop his guard.

"Shit happens? You hit Hermione!" Ginny said, wanting nothing more than to shake off her father and hit her brother again. _I could still slap him, couldn't I? _she considered. _No! Get a grip! Smacking Ron silly isn't going to change anything and certainly isn't going to make things better between Mum and me._ Her father seemed to sense this confused aura around Ginny and held on to her more firmly, in case she decided to do more.

"I might hate your guts forever for breaking us up, but I _am _sorry I lashed out. It was a reflex, she hit me, and I kind of bounced back," Ron explained.

"Where, when?" asked Ginny; her mind had already moved on and she was much more concerned about Hermione, than how the action had happened now.

"At Shell Cottage about an hour or so ago."

"What the hell were you doing there?!"

"I came home and saw Mum upset and when she told me what had happened, I wanted to make sure Hermione was leaving Bill's. But, it all seems ridiculous now, I never should have gone...," Ron tailed off.

A much calmer Ginny moved slowly from her father's grasp and made to walk to the kitchen to leave, but her mother's voice halted her movement. "Where do you think _you're_ going?"

"To see Hermione."

"Oh no you don't!" said her mother.

"Molly, let her go," said Mr. Weasley, as he went and put an arm around his wife. "We can't change how they feel. Locking up Ginny in her room forever isn't going to stop how she feels, except she might begin to hate us instead. She's not a little girl anymore."

"Arthur, have you been drinking, your daughter is...,"

"In love with Hermione, yes, I'm aware of that. It's not what we necessarily wanted for her or thought would happen, but here we are. We either respect her and support her, or we can watch her leave this house never to return, or only to return hating us and never wanting to stay. Do we really want that?"

"But what about Ron? I can't just smile and say everything is fine?!" said a flustered Molly Weasley.

"Ron will have to deal with things as we will have to. And no, maybe everything isn't fine, but the way you've reacted today, Molly, could make everything so much worse."

"Arthur?!"

"Dad's right," said Ron in a gloomy depressed voice. "I'm angry, I'm hurt, but that's _my_ problem. I've hit Hermione; yes, she hit me first, but as soon as it happened and she left, I knew I'd lost her forever, and I can't change that, no matter what I say or do. I should be in bloody Azkaban..."

"She left?" asked Ginny.

"Yeah. I think she went to The Leaky Cauldron sooner than planned," replied Ron. "I said some bloody awful things to her...but I can't believe I hit her?!" he said, hardly seeming to comprehend it all, putting his head in his hands, briefly rubbing a much more swollen face, and noticing a bit of blood that came away on his fingers.

"It's not the first time!" said Ginny, in a controlled, but fierce way.

"What do you mean?" asked a concerned Mr. Weasley, wondering just how bad his son's behaviour had been lately.

"When Ron talked with Hermione in that classroom after the Battle, he left Hermione unconscious, until Harry and I found her."

"What?" Ron's head shot up. "I didn't hit her that time?!"

"No? Well, when you shoved her aside, she hit her head on a desk," explained a ruffled Ginny. "You overfed, uncouth, odious dickhead!"

"I never...I didn't mean...,"

"Bugger it now, and bugger you!" said Ginny, wanting nothing more than to get away from her brother and be with Hermione. "Dad, can I go, please?"

Arthur Weasley left his wife's side and went over to Ginny and hugged her. "Go and find Hermione. Look after her."

"I'll send a message to let you know where I'm staying, whether it's at The Leaky Cauldron or at Bill's," said Ginny. "I'll let you know I'm okay."

"Go to her, love," said Mr. Weasley, as he stood back from Ginny. "Give her my best wishes."

"Thanks, Dad," said Ginny. As she turned to walk towards the kitchen, she looked at her mum, who was staring at her dad. Ginny recognized that expression and she knew it meant a ceiling-shattering argument was going to erupt at any second. That kind of thing rarely happened, but when it did, it was best to be somewhere else.

Ginny glanced at Ron, who had his head in his hands again, muttering to himself. As she passed where he was sitting she couldn't help saying, "Wanker," in a voice only loud enough for him to hear. Had she stayed any longer she knew she might have used her entire repertoire of foul things she could call him, but what mattered more to her now was her girlfriend. Already she was beyond being angry with her brother, and her last comment didn't even give her any satisfaction. Deep down, what Ron had done didn't matter anymore, what Hermione had done didn't matter, but being with Hermione now _did _matter.

With a little smile for her dad, Ginny walked outside the house, and although she knew she was breaking the rules that Bill and Fleur had wanted her to adhere to, she Disapparated to The Leaky Cauldron; after all, her own father said she could go and find Hermione and she didn't really think on it too much.

The pub was packed with people, some looking like they were still celebrating the end of Voldemort, some were just the Friday regulars having left off a little early from work. Ginny scanned the tables as best she could, walking to the edges of the room to check every dark corner, but she couldn't seem to find Hermione. She walked to the bar and looked at the people sat there, knowing it was very unlikely Hermione would be there, but she checked anyway. It occurred to Ginny that her girlfriend was already in her room and keeping to herself. She thought The Leaky Cauldron was bound to have expanded its room capacity, to cash in on the extra trade, so there was unlikely to be a room shortage issue. Ginny walked around to a space at the bar and raised her hand at a young wizard barman; she couldn't see Tom, and in a lot of ways she was glad of that.

"Can I get you a drink?" asked the barman.

"Not at the moment. I wondered if you had a Hermione Granger take a room here?"

"Hermione Granger?" asked the man, then a realization seemed to come over him. "THE Hermione Granger?"

"Yes," replied Ginny, very proud that her girlfriend's name was being recognized. "Is she staying here? I'm Ginny Weasley, her friend."

"_You're_ Ginny Weasley?" the man said, with nearly as much awe, which made Ginny feel uncomfortable, not only for the recognition, but wondering exactly what had been heard by everyone away from Hogwarts. "Just a mo." The barman went to the back of the bar and opened a huge ledger book, running his finger down a line of names. "Sorry, she's not here."

"What about Helen Summers or...or Rose Parkinson?" asked Ginny, wondering if Hermione had used their other names to keep hidden.

"Summers, Summers," muttered the barman, as he scanned the names in the book. "We've got a Summerton, but no Summers. And there's no Parkinson witches or wizards at all, sorry."

_What name is she using? _thought Ginny. "Have you had any witch rent a room within the last couple of hours?"

"No. No one new since ten o'clock this morning and that was a wizard."

"Thanks anyway," said Ginny, as she turned away. _Maybe she went back to Shell Cottage? Maybe Fleur came after her? _

Ginny Disapparated to Shell Cottage with very little thought and walked through the door, finding the kitchen and sitting room empty. "Hello?"

"One moment," Fleur's voice called from upstairs. A couple of minutes later Fleur walked down the stairs. "Ginny?"

"Is Hermione upstairs?"

"No, she...she left when Ron was here," said Fleur, not knowing how much the red-haired woman knew.

"Where did she go?"

"The Leaky Cauldron."

"She's not there!" said Ginny, thumping her backside down on to the sofa. "Where is she?"

"You went to the Leaky Cauldron?" asked Fleur, sitting on an armchair opposite Ginny.

"Ron came back to the Burrow and said he'd had a scuffle with Hermione and she'd left...to cut a long story short, I was confined to my room, until Dad said I ought to go and find Hermione," Ginny sighed tiredly. "So I went to The Leaky Cauldron because Ron said she'd left, thanks to him, but she's not there. I asked at the bar, even asked for the names we'd been using back in time. Where did she go?"

"You went to that pub by yourself?" asked Fleur.

"Yes," said Ginny, then thought on it. "I'm sorry, I Apparated myself, but Dad _did_ tell me to find Hermione. I didn't have much choice. I wasn't thinking much about the fact I shouldn't be doing that; obviously Dad didn't think about it either."

"I suppose that's the least of our worries," said Fleur. "Do you think she might have gone to her family home?"

"No, I doubt it. I think when her parents left they sold the place, so she wouldn't have gone there." Ginny ran a hand through her hair, irritably, trying to think.

"What have you done to your hand?" asked Fleur.

"What?" Ginny looked at her right hand and saw that her first two knuckles were swollen and turning a reddish purple. "Oh, I hit Ron...more than once." Until that moment the redhead hadn't felt anything, but now she began to feel her hand ache. It reminded her of when she'd hurt her hand hitting Gaunt, although this time she was sure she hadn't broken any bones. "Part of me feels very satisfied, but another part of me feels a bit ashamed that I let myself snap like that."

"Weasley men do have hard heads," said Fleur trying to stay cheerful, instead of lecturing her sister-in-law about fists never really solving anything. "Let me heal that for you." The Frenchwoman went to the kitchen, opened a cupboard and came back with a potion bottle. She used a couple of drops over Ginny's hand.

Ginny could feel the skin around her knuckles contract and mildly sting. "Dittany?" she asked.

"Yes. It's the best thing for all kinds of healing," said Fleur, as she made sure Ginny's hand was as healed as possible. "Would Hermione go to Grimmauld Place?"

Ginny thought on it for a few moments, her knuckles no longer hurting and the bruising nearly gone. "No, I don't think so, because she'd be worried that Ron was still staying there. He came back to the Burrow this afternoon, but she didn't know about that and might have thought he was going back to Grimmauld Place again."

"Hmm. Would Hogsmeade be an option, do you think?" suggested Fleur.

"She'd be really well known there. I'm not sure she'd want that, but I suppose she might have taken a room at the Hog's Head; Aberforth might be helpful." Ginny almost growled in frustration, and at the same time she was deeply worried and desperate to see her girlfriend. "That's one place to think on, but if not there, where the hell did she go?"

"I can solve the Hog's Head suggestion for you, now," said Fleur kindly, standing up.

"What?"

"I'll Disapparate there and ask, and ask at The Three Broomsticks too. It might take a little while," said the Frenchwoman. "But, if I find Hermione, I can take you to her, okay?"

"I can go with you."

"I think it might be quicker if I go alone," said Fleur, and seeing Ginny frown. "You're stressed, and on edge. Please rest here a while. Let me see if she's in Hogsmeade and if she is, then you'll be in the best possible shape to see her, yes?"

"Well...all right," said Ginny, not really sure how she was feeling, beyond a sort of stressed cloudy, confusion, almost like she was going to sit an exam for Transfiguration only to be handed a paper on Arithmancy. She nodded, and Fleur walked out of the house and Disapparated to Hogsmeade.

_Please be in Hogsmeade, _Ginny thought about Hermione, _I know what the place is like, I'll know you've been all right. _After what seemed a lot longer than a few minutes and was probably more than half an hour, Fleur walked back into the cottage.

"Have you found her?" asked a very eager Ginny.

"I'm sorry, but she wasn't staying anywhere in Hogsmeade. I even sort of broke into a couple of the boarded up shops to see if she was hiding out. I gave the Shrieking Shack a quick look too, but there was no sign of her. The Hog's Head was shut and no one was home. Madam Rosmerta told me that Aberforth is helping at Hogwarts and thinks he might even take a teaching job there once it's eventually rebuilt again. But no one has seen a glimpse of Hermione since we all left after the Battle."

"Where is she?" said Ginny, more asking the air than asking Fleur. "God, it's nearly as bad as when I had to find her in 1943. I hate it. I hate not knowing where she is!"

"You spoke of a pub you stayed at, back then," said Fleur softly, as she sat down next to Ginny. "You liked the people there?"

"The White Hart at Great Hangleton?" Ginny briefly considered it, then shook her head. "I think, sadly, the owners would probably be dead by now, and there's no guarantee the pub is still a pub."

"Can you think of anywhere that she loved to go to, ever spoke of, somewhere she visited in recent years, maybe?"

_Recently, the only place we both felt safe and comfortable was Dumbledore's house in... _"Godric's Hollow," said Ginny suddenly. "Dumbledore's house."

"With him passing away I doubt it would still be his?" questioned Fleur.

"It would pass to Aberforth, wouldn't it? Maybe?" offered Ginny. "It's the only place I can think of. I'm going to have to go and look." She stood up and took a step.

"Ginny, wait!" said Fleur.

"Why? It's the only place I can think of. I have to go and see. I'm okay now, rested and all that, I have to do something and not sit on my hands any longer."

"I know," said Fleur, standing up. "I'm not stopping you. Only, I think I should Side-Along Apparate you there."

"You don't have to."

"No, but I think I should, don't you? And also, I would like to, because if Hermione _is_ there, I want to make sure she's okay," said Fleur gently. "I wanted to go after her as soon as she left. But I wanted to make sure Ron left here, which he did straight away; then I was going to wait for Bill to get home before going to The Leak Cauldron to see her. Now, I'm worried about her and want to help...both of you."

Ginny had been initially reluctant, but soon thought it would be horrible to get to Godric's Hollow and Hermione wasn't there either. Having some company would be supportive and she was surprised to admit that the idea of having Fleur with her made her feel warm rather than repulsed. She nodded to Fleur.

The Frenchwoman scribbled a note on a piece of paper for Bill, if he came home and wondered where everyone was. Then she and Ginny walked out of the door to make the journey to Godric's Hollow.

"I don't think we should Apparate to the back garden of the house," said Ginny. "In case it _does _belong to someone else now. We arrived, twice, in the churchyard. Are you able to aim for there?"

"Of course," said Fleur. "I've been to that village with Bill."

"You _have_?"

"It's a famous village, and we both wanted to see it." Fleur held Ginny's hand and instigated their mode of travel.

In a strange moment of déja vu, Ginny found herself standing on nearly the same spot as she had done when Hermione and herself had landed, literally, into 1943. Feeling momentarily woozy from Apparating, only added to Ginny's sense of the bizarre.

"Everything all right, Ginny?"

"Yeah, just thinking about when I was here in 1943."

"It must have been terrifying?" asked Fleur.

"Not really, because it was a while before we knew how far back we'd been sent. When we found out, _then_ it was terrifying," said Ginny with a little grin. With no one else in the churchyard or nearby to have noticed their arrival, Fleur and Ginny began walking.

"You obviously know where Dumbledore's house is?" asked the Frenchwoman.

"Yes, it's at the other end of the village. A little bit of a walk."

As the two women walked, they talked about one or two very normal subjects, as well as taking a look at the changing War Memorial which, to magical eyes, showed Harry and his parents.

"I've never seen that before," said Ginny, stopping briefly to look at the monument.

"But you were here in 1997?" said a surprised Fleur.

"We were, but Dumbledore Apparated us to the back garden of his house, we never ventured into the village that time. Of course, the Memorial we saw in 1943 and 45 wasn't magically altered then."

After several more minutes of walking they approached the gate of what had been Dumbledore's house. Ginny stopped and looked towards the door. She could still see the painted phoenix on the bottom of the door, and what looked like Humphrey the door knocker too.

"It's the same front door," said Ginny. "But that doesn't mean a new magical person hasn't been living there and kept the door."

"Well, we can at least try the door and find out," said Fleur, as she opened the garden gate, Ginny closing it behind them, as they walked up the path.

Ginny found herself staring at Humphrey, the ring of the key in his mouth as usual. She wondered if Dumbledore's death had resulted in making the door knocker static and back to being only a piece of decorative metal. That was until the bulging eyes rolled to look from her to Fleur. _If Hermione is in there, would he have the key in his mouth? _she thought. _Unless the key goes back the moment someone enters the garden gate?_ "I think Humphrey's working, he was never alive, exactly."

"Do we talk to him? Or do we need a password?" asked Fleur.

"You have to sort of prove you're friends of Dumbledore, and Gryffindors," said Ginny. "Whether that works if someone else owns it, is unlikely."

"I qualify for the first, but not the second, so I think it's up to you, Ginny."

Staring at Humphrey, Ginny said, "Hello, do you remember me? Anyway my friend and I are still very loyal to Dumbledore, both Albus and Aberforth and we need to get into the house. I'm a loyal Gryffindor too. _Relashio!_" She tugged on the ring, not being totally surprised when it didn't budge.

"Maybe it _does_ belong to someone else?" said Fleur.

"Perhaps," replied Ginny. "But this little twit has a habit of holding on to the key too." She looked back at the door knocker. "If Hermione Granger is in the house, please let me in. I have to see her. _Relashio!" _Again, the ring didn't move, and Ginny felt a sinking feeling. "I don't think Hermione is here."

Fleur glanced at Humphrey, then at Ginny, before moving in front of the door knocker and staring at the phoenix head; then she smiled at it. "You'll let us have the key, won't you Humphrey? You'd do anything for me, wouldn't you?"

Ginny watched in amazement, as Fleur spoke to the door knocker in almost a purring voice, and without using the _Relashio _spell at all, Humphrey opened his beak and let Fleur take the key.

"How did you do that?" asked a flabbergasted Ginny.

"My Veela blood," said Fleur. "I wondered if it would work on him; it did. Now, where's the lock to use the key."

"Unfortunately we have to ask metal-head to show it to us," said Ginny, as she walked forward again. "Do you remember me, now, Humphrey?" she asked hopefully.

The door knocker was still staring at Fleur, but eventually looked back to Ginny. "Yes, you were the hussy always threatenin' me!"

"I only did that once!" said Ginny, hearing Fleur give a little laugh. "Anyway, does this house still belong to a Dumbledore?"

"No," said Humphrey.

"Oh," Ginny answered, feeling very down. "What's the current owner's name?"

"I can't tell you that! I'm not 'sposed to gossip! I'm only a door knocker!"

Sighing with frustration and a heavy feeling in her chest, Ginny decided on a different line of questioning. "Would you show us the lock and let us in? You know how much Hermione and I were trusted by Dumbledore."

"No," replied Humphrey simply. "Clean your flippin' ears out, I said Dumbledore isn't the owner no more, so I don't give a flyin' fart if your loyal to him or not! Hang on a moment!? How did ya get the key? You're not 'sposed to have that!?"

"Arghhhhh!" Ginny threw her hands up in despair. "This is getting us nowhere!"

"Is someone in the house at the moment?" asked Fleur, putting a subtle touch of the different Veela tone into her voice.

"Yes, the house is occupied by the owner," said Humphrey, as he then mumbled something about 'get me into trouble' and 'must have tricked me', but both women weren't paying any attention.

"It's possible Hermione visited here," said Fleur to Ginny. "Whomsoever owns the house now, might have seen her or even answered the door to her. That might give us a clue as to where she went next."

"We still need this lump of scrap iron here, to be a bit more helpful," replied Ginny, tiredly.

"Can we speak to the owner of the house?" Fleur asked Humphrey.

"I'm only a door knocker," explained Humphrey. "I can't be summonin' people from inside the house. Gawd! I'm not a wizard!"

Ginny moved forward again. "Right, so can we use you to knock on the door?"

Humphrey eyed Ginny, then Fleur. "Yes, but only the blonde one. I still remember what you said the last time! Somethin' about a goblet?! Oh yes, I remember!" he directed at Ginny, before rolling his eyes to Fleur.

Fleur gave a little chuckle, placed the key back into Humphrey's mouth, and used the ring to knock three or four times loudly on the door. "At the very least we'll know whom the new owner is," she said to Ginny.

There was no sound of movement from within, so Fleur used the knocker ring once more, and before she had finished her knock, Ginny noticed a slight bit of movement out of the corner of her eye, and saw the outline of the curtain, in the front room window, sway slightly.

"Someone's definitely in," whispered Ginny.

Then they both heard footsteps to the door, followed by the sound of the handle being moved. The door opened a crack, as a shadow of a person checked their visitors, before they opened the door fully.

"_YOU'RE_ the new owner?!" said a shocked Ginny, unable to find other words when faced with the person in the doorway.

There in the doorway was Hermione, a very tired looking Hermione, wearing a developing bruise to one cheek, but seeing the two people on the doorstep she immediately smiled and walked forward to hug Ginny fiercely, before giving Fleur a hug too and ushering them into the house.

"How did you know I was here?" asked Hermione, as she closed the front door, her eyes unable to hide how close she was to tears, although she seemed to be trying hard not to shed them. "I hadn't told anyone yet. I was going to send a message later, somehow."

"I went to The Leaky Cauldron, but you weren't there," explained Ginny. "I even asked for you under your other names. Fleur checked for you all over Hogsmeade and she and I thought hard about where you might be, and this was the only plausible answer. I had no idea if the house was still Dumbledore's or not. When Humphrey was his usual unhelpful self, we didn't know who the new owner would be. We wanted to know in case you'd tried to get in."

"You _are_ the current owner, aren't you, Hermione?" asked Fleur, as they went through to the sitting room.

"Yes, I am."

"How? When?" asked Ginny, as she sat next to Hermione on the sofa and held her hands. "Humphrey never even hinted you were here, let alone that you were the owner!?"

"I hoped that maybe the house had been passed to Aberforth, so I thought I might still be able to get inside. Humphrey didn't give me any trouble at all, almost like he was expecting me, like before."

"You were expected?"

"It seems so," said Hermione, as she pulled out a letter from her pocket. "I'm not sure how to explain it, and maybe we'll never know exactly, but Dumbledore knew I'd need a place to stay. Perhaps he did a bit more time-travelling than we know. Whatever the case, this letter, left in the hallway, was a shock. I still can't believe it," she said, as she passed the letter to Ginny.

Ginny unfolded the paper and immediately recognized the handwriting:

_Dear Hermione,_

_If you are reading this, then it shows that, as I expected, you have need of me. Perhaps that is slightly egotistical of me, when in fact it is my house you really need. I know that these four walls became a place of safety for you, and for Ginny, and in many ways I am flattered that you loved this little place as much as you did. _

_You have done so much for me and for Hogwarts and for our magical world, such as it is, and I expect great things from you in the future. _

_With the agreement of my brother, I have no hesitation in gifting you this house, to do with as you please. However, I must stress that selling it on would be very unwise; Humphrey would not be very accommodating and oddly he can not be removed or replaced. It was tried once and it was a complete failure! So please feel free to live here, holiday here or visit when you can. You, Hermione Granger, now have a house in Godric's Hollow._

_My very best wishes and thanks,_

_Albus Dumbledore_

"Bloody hell!" said Ginny, as she handed the letter to Fleur.

"I know," said Hermione smiling. "It's a little mad!" Then she looked at Ginny, and suddenly she remembered something. "What are you doing here? I thought you were sent to your room for at least...forever!?"

"Dad told me to find you," said Ginny. "He sends his best wishes."

"I don't understand?"

"Dad talked with me, he's really supportive and Mum took even _him_ by surprise. Anyway, Ron came home and I overheard what he was telling Mum and Dad about how he got his bruised face, and I sort of got involved with the conversation."

"You didn't hit Ron, did you?" asked Hermione, nervously.

"Yes, I bloody well did!"

"Oh."

"Oh? I've been wanting to do that to him since I found you in that classroom. When I found out he'd hurt you again...well, I couldn't let it go," said Ginny. "Restraint and calmness can go bugger itself, it needed to be done. _I _needed to do it!" Seeing Hermione and her bruised face had momentarily fired up the redhead again.

Although Hermione wasn't keen on violence, despite her own punch to Ron, and to Draco Malfoy in her Third Year at Hogwarts, there was something about Ginny defending her that made her feel warm inside; a warmth that spread through her chest. She also had to admit how sexy it was too, along with a small guilty part of her feeling satisfied that Ron had been hit by a third different person in a week; Harry, herself and now Ginny.

"I admit part of me doesn't feel that proud that I lost control, but...well, it's done now, I can't reverse it anymore than you can or he can...," Ginny added in a quiet, thoughtful voice. _Shit, my mood swings today are like riding on a faulty broomstick, _she thought. _I really need to sort myself out!_

"Did he say anything much?" Hermione asked.

"Not a great deal of any worth. He was mostly whinging, but I think there's a possibility he might have got the message that he doesn't have a chance with you anymore. Mum was going to stop me from leaving, but Dad spoke up for me," said Ginny. "I think there was going to be a blazing row when I left, but I didn't hang around to find out. Then, when I didn't find you at The Leaky Cauldron, I went to Bill and Fleur's."

"Which is where she should have gone before Disapparating and Apparating herself all over the country first!" said Fleur.

"It was only to The Leaky Cauldron and back!" explained Ginny, but saw that Fleur was smiling and not about to admonish her further.

"Well, however it happened, I'm so glad you're here," said Hermione.

"Did you come here straight away?" asked Ginny. "Or did you go somewhere else first?"

"Believe it or not, I went to Snettisham first," said Hermione.

"Snettisham? Where's that?" asked Ginny. "It sounds familiar, but I can't place it?"

Hermione smiled. "It's one of those places mentioned in that book you had on Muggle Seaside Towns. It's on The Wash coastline in Norfolk. Anyway, I don't know why I went there really. Except, I was thinking of you and then I thought of that Andrasta necklace and I remembered that a hoard of Iceni gold torques and items were discovered near there. Some weird association connection thing to you, led me there, I think. Then I thought about King John's treasure."

"Did you try to find any?"

"I admit I was a little upset and not thinking straight, but I did try a little revealing charm," replied Hermione.

"Any results?" asked an interested Ginny.

"No, unless you count an empty beer can, several old foil milk bottle tops and a rusty bicycle chain, as treasure."

"Oh," said Ginny. "That's disappointing."

Fleur was fascinated by the conversation and had heard of the King John legend herself. "Maybe it wasn't at Snettisham?"

"Maybe or maybe the treasure _was_ found years ago," considered Hermione. "There are a lot of places along The Wash coastline, both in Norfolk and Lincolnshire, so it might be out there still. Snettisham isn't the place. Nevermind, that really is irrelevant compared to here and now." She looked into Ginny's eyes and smiled warmly, the redhead giving her hands a little squeeze in reply, saying so much to each other without uttering other words.

**A/N: Were Ginny's actions popular, or am I condoning sexist violence against Ron? ;););) (After all, some people think he's a harmless fluffly bunny.) The other part I thought might be popular was Godric's Hollow. :)**


	71. Reaffirmed

**A/N: I loved Godric's Hollow and it seems a lot of you did too. It also became logical for this chapter to take place there. ;) Extremely useful! ;)**

**This chapter is a little breather...well, there's definitely some 'breathing' involved. LOL Adult content. :) **

71: Reaffirmed

Fleur was relieved to have found Hermione safe and well and was so pleased for her about being given Dumbledore's house. She was equally pleased to have helped Ginny and kept an eye on her, but she knew that she ought to leave them alone now; neither were little girls requiring a chaperone.

"I'd better be getting back," said Fleur, standing up.

"You don't have to go," said Hermione. "Have some dinner with us; you could get a message to Bill to come over."

"It's very kind of you, and sometime I would like that very much, as I'm sure Bill would too, but," Fleur sighed. "I think you need some time alone together. You've both had a bizarre day."

Having no doubts, Ginny hugged Fleur. "Thanks for your help. It means a lot."

Fleur had been slightly taken aback, but was immensely happy that her relationship with Ginny was a good one now, and she hoped they would always be closer in future. "No problem. I'm pleased this all turned out well."

Hermione also hugged Fleur. "Thanks for bringing Ginny here. And I mean it; you and Bill are welcome to come over any time."

"I'm so glad you're okay," replied Fleur.

All three of them made their way through the house to the back garden. "You can Disapparate safely from out here," said Hermione.

"Would you be able to send a message to Dad for me, tell him where we are?" Ginny asked Fleur, suddenly wondering how she would get word back to the Burrow, not sure of the type of message possibilities in the house, as Hermione hadn't yet sent a message to anyone.

"Of course I will." With a smile and a wave, Fleur Disapparated back to Shell Cottage.

"You really like her now, don't you?" said Hermione, slightly amused.

"I think it's because I've got to know her a little better," said Ginny, as they walked back into the house. "She's actually very nice and quite funny too."

"I'm pleased you've seen what she's really like."

"I'm more pleased I've found you. I've missed you terribly. I know we've only been apart mere hours, but the moment everything went arse-up at the Burrow, I was miserable. I didn't know when I'd be able to see you again."

As they stood in the kitchen, Hermione put her arms around Ginny's neck and leaned in and kissed her; a tender, sweet kiss. As they parted, Hermione rested her forehead against Ginny's. "I was miserable too, the moment I had to leave the Burrow. I thought your mum was going to lock you away for months. I certainly felt almost banished."

"Dad's been really nice, it's just Mum who's acting up. I so hope he can talk to her, make her understand. Even if she never approves, I want her to know it's not some silly phase and that we're serious about this."

"I think it will all take time," Hermione said with a sigh.

"I think it's amazing that Dumbledore gave you this house," said Ginny. "Sounds like you own Humphrey too?!"

"Yeah, he's been nice, actually."

"Wait a moment; is Mrs. Starchy-Pants upstairs still?"

Hermione got hold of Ginny's hand. "Come and have a look."

The brunette led Ginny up the stairs and they walked through into the third bedroom, which looked remarkably the same as it had in all their previous visits. Both women turned in the room to face the position of the portrait. The frame was empty of its occupant, as it always was.

"Oh, so the old windbag isn't here. What's new?" said Ginny.

"Don't you notice anything different?" asked Hermione, with a grin.

Ginny stared at the picture, and then she noticed that it no longer held a high-backed chair, but a more comfortable green leather one. "She's changed the furniture?"

"There's no longer a 'she'"

"No longer a 'she'?"

"Her son uses that particular chair now."

"You have access to Dumbledore?" asked a wide-eyed Ginny.

"Only when I really need him," said Hermione. "I had a brief chat after I found his letter in the hallway. I thought I was going to have to pass a message through his mother to get him into her portrait, but he appeared instead."

"What did he say?"

"He confirmed that the house is mine and that it's up to me how I use it, or when I use it. Then he spoke again about how proud he was of both of us and that he finally felt he had some peace and contentment, after everything we worked for came to fruition."

"Did he kick his mother out of the frame or something?"

"No, he said his brother came here and hung that picture there ready, if and when I happened to stop by. I find it very comforting, to know if I have some desperate situation, magically, that I can talk with him," said Hermione.

"I bet Harry would like to visit and talk with him sometimes," said Ginny.

"I have a feeling Dumbledore will be barking out a lot of orders during the huge task of trying to rebuild Hogwarts, but I'm sure he'll have time for any of us. As long as we don't keep calling him here every other day."

Ginny held Hermione's hand and with her other hand she lightly touched the rapidly darkening bruise on Hermione's cheek. "I think we could use some dittany on that."

"I have my beaded bag in my pocket; force of habit," said the brunette with a chuckle, as she walked into the bedroom they had always slept in. "I think my hand could do with a little attention too. I can vouch that Ron's head is made of stone!"

"It _is_!" agreed Ginny. "Fleur healed my hand for me."

Sitting on the bed, Hermione passed the bottle of dittany, she'd retrieved from her bag, to Ginny. The redhead put her wand on the bedside cabinet, before getting a tissue out of her own bag, deciding to use the gentle method she'd employed for Hermione's wounds in 1943. Very carefully, she pressed the dittany-laden tissue to Hermione's bruised knuckles, watching as the injury disappeared, before reapplying dittany to the tissue and carefully pressing it to Hermione's cheek.

As expected, Hermione initially flinched slightly from the stinging sensation, as the dittany began its work. In a very short time, the bruise and any swelling had faded and gone, and instead of lightly pressing a tissue to Hermione's cheek, Ginny was cupping it with a hand and gently stroking the soft peachy skin with her thumb.

"Has it gone?" asked Hermione, unable to take her eyes from Ginny's.

"Yes, you wouldn't know there had ever been anything there," said Ginny, before she couldn't help but add, "You're so beautiful."

Hermione moved her hand to touch Ginny's, turning her head slightly and kissing the palm. "So are you," she said.

"I'm so sorry about Ron," said Ginny. "Sorry I have the misfortune of him being my brother and I'm sorry I lost control and hit him too. It's not going to help our situation at all."

"The past few days everyone's been on edge and emotionally drained, it doesn't encourage rational thoughts or actions, unfortunately. And _I_ didn't exactly show control either. But, it does sound like my little boxing match with him might have made him think on things," said Hermione. "Of course I wish it hadn't happened and I hadn't hit him in the first place, but it allowed me to come to this house, and find this surprise...although, I suspect Dumbledore knew about it all, however overwhelming that thought is. Perhaps it all _had _to happen."

"It _is_ hard to take in that you own this house, now," said Ginny, continuing to feel in awe at that information.

"It will take a while to sink in properly. But at least we both have somewhere to stay, and somewhere we both feel comfortable. Dumbledore also said that the Hogwarts' Elves are happy to deliver food and things here, whenever I need it."

"You have the Hogwarts' Elves at your disposal? Hmm...," said Ginny. "It's not a surprise and you deserve it, after everything you've done for Hogwarts and for the magical world."

Hermione looked into Ginny's eyes, and put her arms around the redhead's neck. "It wasn't just me. I couldn't have done anything without you."

"I think you could have."

"I'm telling you, I couldn't," said Hermione. "As I remember it, we were completely equal and planned everything together. But I wouldn't have been able to complete everything without you."

"Hmm, this is the part where I blush and go silent," said Ginny. "I'm still not convinced. I think Kreacher would have been as good as me." She laughed, thinking of Hermione travelling with the obnoxious house-elf.

"NO!" said Hermione, startling Ginny somewhat. "You listen to me, and I don't care if you blush yourself maroon. Right from the moment we _landed_ in 1943, you were more than helping. If you hadn't spotted the phoenix on the door, we might never have found this house..."

"I thought it was a pheasant and alive, if I remember correctly."

"You saw it, though! You calmly dealt with those lecherous soldiers in London, where I'd been close to messing up everything. You searched for me after that Gaunt and Massey business, even when you thought it might just be a body at the end of it, and then you helped to get us away from that army base..." Hermione put one of her hands over Ginny's mouth to stop her protests. "You cared for me here until I was well. Without you I would never have been convincing with Borgin, and I certainly couldn't have dealt with Hepzibah without you. You saved my life from Bellatrix at Hogwarts too. You are one in a million and...and I'm hopelessly in love with you."

Ginny didn't have anything to reply with, except an almost trembling, "I love you." She leaned in and pressed her lips to Hermione's.

The kiss soon turned from soft and tender to passionate and deep, with their tongues pushing and tangling against the other, while their arms were tightly wrapped around each other. Hermione broke the kiss only to move to lying down on the bed, tugging on Ginny's hand for the woman to join her.

Their lips joined in kisses again, and Hermione rolled herself slightly so she was virtually on top of Ginny. She only left the redhead's lips to press kisses to her cheeks, her neck and she couldn't resist using her tongue to lick a line up Ginny's throat, before kissing her lips once more. She had a hand between them on to Ginny's chest, alternating between rubbing the flat of her palm and kneading the breast beneath that hand, separated only by the materials of shirt and bra.

Ginny moved her hands up and down Hermione's sides and back, occasionally running a hand into the brunette's hair, as their lips captured each other's. Both of them were breathing slightly shallower and their hearts were beating faster as well.

Hermione straddled her girlfriend and raised herself enough so she could unbutton Ginny's shirt, not able to resist lowering her head to place a kiss on every new inch of flesh each button revealed. Once the last button was undone, Hermione moved back a little so Ginny could sit up and assist in taking off her shirt completely.

Before Hermione was able to reach around and part Ginny from her bra, the redhead was pushing up Hermione's top and smiling broadly, as they both helped to discard the garment. Ginny wrapped her arms around her lover and as she put her head forward, leaving light tickling kisses to the tops of Hermione's breasts, she easily undid the hooks of the bra and once undone, pushed the cups up and over her girlfriend's breasts, freeing them to her gaze, hands and mouth.

Hermione briefly shifted to slide off her bra completely and then Ginny moved her head back to her goal, taking a nipple into her mouth, as she held the other breast with her hand, rubbing the palm over the nipple. Hermione sighed deeply at the sensations and wrapped one arm around Ginny's shoulders and had her other hand in the red hair she loved so much, lightly holding the girl's head to her chest. Ginny swapped her ministrations to the other breast, sucking and licking at the hardened nipple, every touch sending jolts to her girlfriend's groin.

"Let me have some fun too," said Hermione breathily, as she pushed Ginny's head away a little, before reaching around her and undoing the younger woman's bra. She slid the shoulder straps down the redhead's arms and flung the item of underwear over her own shoulder in a very casual way, before she pushed Ginny back down to the bed and hovered over her.

They kissed again, every part of them thinking nothing beyond loving the other. Hermione kneaded one of Ginny's breasts, holding it and gently rubbing a thumb over the nipple, before she could delay it no longer and broke their kiss to move her attentions to those firm mounds of flesh properly. She showered Ginny's breasts with kisses, before taking a nipple into her mouth, tugging at it and flicking it with her tongue.

It had only been merely days since they had slept together, but it felt like it had been an eternity, and both girls were nearly overwhelmed by the physical and emotional sensations they were experiencing. After a few more moments of Hermione worshipping Ginny's breasts, the younger girl had begun to involuntarily move her hips, trying to find a little friction to ease the building ache.

Hermione could feel Ginny moving beneath her, and uttered a little moan as she gave another tugging suck on a nipple, before moving back up to kiss the redhead on the lips. She moved, so she wasn't straddling Ginny's hips anymore, but placed a leg between Ginny's thighs. Immediately the redhead felt it and moved herself against Hermione's thigh, feeling the rough seam of her jeans rub against her crotch.

Ginny wanted more now and to free herself from the confines of her lower clothing, so she moved a hand from around Hermione, as they were kissing again, and slid it between them, trying to fiddle with the button of her jeans, and groaned with mild frustration when she couldn't undo it with one hand.

Sensing the movement, Hermione pulled back and looked into Ginny's face. "Anything wrong?"

"Err...I want my jeans off," said Ginny, blushing beautifully.

With a little laugh, Hermione sat back and helped Ginny to undo her jeans' button and slide down the zip. "Bugger this!" said Ginny suddenly, as she picked up her wand from the bedside cabinet, flicked it and became completely naked.

"Care to help me out too?" said Hermione, pointing to her own remaining garments. Ginny flicked her wand a second time and Hermione's lower clothing was also discarded in that quick action.

"Better?" asked Hermione.

"Much better," said Ginny, as she pulled Hermione back down on top of her, loving the feel of their bare skin touching each other.

Once more, Hermione pressed a thigh between Ginny's, as she went back to kissing her lips, with brief detours to her neck and breasts. Ginny rolled her hips against Hermione's helpful thigh, knowing the brunette could probably feel her desire rubbing against her, she was sure she could feel Hermione against her own thigh and that made her smile.

After kissing and licking at the hollow of Ginny's neck, enjoying how it made her lover squirm, Hermione raised her head to look into Ginny's eyes, as she slowly and tantalizingly moved her hand down the girl's body, both of them feeling excitement, knowing its destination. Hermione ran her fingers through the triangle of soft curly auburn hair, and briefly held Ginny's mound, squeezing it, before sliding her fingers into the waiting folds of her girlfriend's womanhood, causing them both to sigh; Hermione for the wetness she found there, knowing she was the cause, and Ginny for the contact she had so deeply desired since the last time they'd made love.

With minimal delay, Hermione rubbed her fingers over and around Ginny's clit in a slow measured pattern, causing the younger woman's hips to move more and cause her to utter little moans of pleasure. Hermione pressed kisses to Ginny's lips, often deepening the kisses to swallow the moans she was creating.

Aware of the way Ginny was responding to her fingers' dexterous work, Hermione briefly stilled her hand and slid her fingers lower. Ginny initially thought Hermione had stopped completely, and as she was about to question it, looking into Hermione's eyes, she felt fingers enter her, making her hips come off the bed, releasing a moan from deep in her throat.

Setting a slow almost maddening pace to begin with, Hermione moved her fingers in and out of Ginny, loving everything she was feeling and hearing, her own wetness increasing from how much her girlfriend was turning her on. Still capturing Ginny's lips with her own, occasionally moving her tongue against her lover's, matching the rhythm of her fingers, she started to increase her pace, feeling how close Ginny was to letting go.

"Shit! That feels...soo good!" said Ginny, out of breath.

Leaving the heel of her hand to press and rub against Ginny in just the right place, Hermione continued her ministrations, and raised her head, watching her girlfriend. As she looked at Ginny, whose eyes frequently closed as she neared her climax, Hermione was suddenly taken by just how beautiful the younger girl was, and the thought that she had nearly lost her to Bellatrix made tears come to her eyes, and made her feel her love for Ginny burn in her chest.

In a very short time, with Ginny's hips moving in time with Hermione's hand, rising up to meet each thrust, Hermione could feel her fingers being squeezed. "I love you, Ginny," she said, as a tear rolled its way down her cheek. "I love you so much. Come for me, my love."

Ginny obeyed; the burning that had started low down in her abdomen, at her very core, spread through her; she heard Hermione's voice, opened her eyes and looked at her. What with seeing the pure love in the eyes that met hers and feeling her lover inside her, everything culminated and she felt her orgasm hit her. And it _was _a hit and not a fizz. Her body was on fire and had passed into that sought-after oblivion, where nothing else ever felt as good or meant as much as it did in that moment.

Hermione held on to her lover, pressing light kisses to her chest, neck and face. "I love you," the brunette said again. "I love you." She repeated it several times as Ginny came down from her climax. It wasn't long before Ginny realized that Hermione was in fact crying.

"Hey, what's wrong?" asked Ginny, putting a hand under Hermione's chin, raising her head so she had to look at her.

"I'm being a little silly," said Hermione, wiping her cheek.

"Silly?"

"I don't know why, but I was thinking about how I nearly lost you, when Bellatrix..." Hermione wiped her other cheek. "See, silly?"

Ginny cupped Hermione's cheek. "It's not silly. I know how I felt when I thought I'd lost you in 1943, and that was _before _I truly acknowledged I felt something for you."

"I'm being melodramatic," said Hermione, annoyed with herself.

"You're allowed to be," said Ginny with a smile. She was going to move, when she felt a spasm between her legs again and realized Hermione still had her fingers deeply embedded inside her. The thought of it alone made her give a small gasp and caused another spasm.

"You all right?" asked Hermione. "You...err...didn't seem ready to let go of me, so I hadn't moved yet."

"Yeah, I'm fine. Of course, you _are_ turning me on again now," said Ginny, blushing.

"Am I?" said Hermione, who gave a teasing wiggle of her fingers.

"Ohhh! You...know you...are," said Ginny, her words punctuated by controlled breaths. "I'm okay, now, providing you stop being mischievous."

"Me? Mischievous?" said Hermione in mock innocence.

"Yes, you!" laughed Ginny. "But I have other things on my mind, so you can...well, have your hand back."

Slowly Hermione withdrew her fingers from her girlfriend, enjoying the interesting type of power she had over her lover in that situation, as Ginny sighed deeply. "So what's on your mind?"

Ginny rolled them so she was hovering over Hermione, her eyes black with desire. "I want _you_, now. I want to show you how much I love you."

The breath caught in Hermione's throat and she put her arms around Ginny as the redhead kissed her. Their kiss deepened, tongues tangling, lips nibbling lips. Ginny greatly enjoyed kissing little trails from Hermione's lips to an ear, licking and sucking an earlobe, before finding the woman's lips again.

Dropping a hand between them, Ginny tenderly held one of Hermione's breasts, alternating between tugging at the nipple and rubbing her fingers over it. In a short amount of time she kissed a path down Hermione's neck, licking and kissing her sternum, before lavishing her attentions on the breasts she adored. As she worshipped one breast, taking a nipple into her mouth, Ginny's hand gave attention to the other breast. Hermione slid her fingers into her girlfriend's hair, enjoying how it felt to have those red silky locks spread across her chest and stomach, as Ginny loved her breasts.

Hermione was frequently uttering little moans of pleasure, and Ginny decided to continue kissing a trail from Hermione's breasts, down her stomach, loving how the abdominal muscles flickered and flinched from the sensations. Ginny worked her way lower, until she was kneeling between Hermione's legs, pressing kisses to the inside of her thighs, exhilarated by the smell of her girlfriend's arousal.

Spreading her legs more, Hermione was in desirous anticipation for what she knew would follow. Ginny used one finger to trace Hermione's nether lips, smiling when her girlfriend exhaled a gasp and moved her hips in search of relief. After a few moments Ginny trailed two fingers down Hermione's moist womanhood, before gently rubbing those fingers in a circular motion around the hard bundle of nerves waiting for her touch. Moving her fingers out of the way, Ginny lowered her head to the treasure spread before her and pressed her tongue against that hard nub, causing Hermione to gasp again. Ginny set a steady pace of licking and sucking and rubbing at Hermione with her tongue.

Reaching up with one hand to hold and caress one of Hermione's breasts, Ginny used her other hand to enter her girlfriend with her fingers, greatly enjoying how the brunette's hips rose off the bed to meet her hand, to try and take more of her inside.

"Gods, yes!" said Hermione.

Ginny kept pace with her fingers, matched by her lips and tongue. Hermione had a hand lightly on Ginny's head, and her other hand she had over Ginny's hand, as it caressed her breast, almost like she was trying to ground herself and completely connect with her lover. Feeling Hermione begin to grip her fingers and roll her hips more to seek her release, Ginny increased the tempo of her hand and tongue. She briefly looked up to see Hermione, flushed and in thrall to the sensations coursing through her body, sensations that _she_ was causing, which made her feel in awe of it all.

"I love you," said Ginny, still between Hermione's thighs, knowing her lover would feel the breath and vibrations of her words. "Come for me, Hermione," she said, before covering the woman's clit with her mouth and sucking on it, feeling Hermione's inner walls release and grip her, in the throes of her orgasm.

Drawing out every delicious burning part of Hermione's climax with her tongue, licking at the woman's release as she continued to move her fingers within her, Ginny didn't want to overdo things, but so far Hermione hadn't stopped her, so she continued. She curled her fingers and kept a firm pace; she looked up to Hermione and was stunned by her beauty all over again, as it seemed as though she was heading for a second orgasm on the back of the first.

Keeping her hand to the rhythm she'd set, Ginny moved up to kiss Hermione on the lips, knowing she would taste herself. Pressing her thumb to Hermione's clit and thrusting her fingers purposely, she looked into Hermione's face, wanting to look into her eyes as she came.

"Hmm," Ginny sighed, after she briefly kissed Hermione on the lips. "You're so beautiful. I'm so lucky to have you. I love you, Hermione."

Those words had been enough to send Hermione over the edge again; she tried to hold eye contact with Ginny the whole time, but as her second powerful orgasm hit her in a wave, she had to close her eyes, and she threw back her head into the pillows, as her body arched up into her release.

"Ginnnn-yyyyyy!" Hermione moaned loudly, her whole body feeling as though she were burning; but this was no fever, it was pure passion and love. Every stress, every piece of emotional pain from the past few days exploded into her orgasm, and Ginny felt it too.

Both women almost collapsed from their latest activity; Ginny was resting her head on Hermione's chest and shoulder, pressing the occasional kiss to the soft skin beneath her cheek. Hermione wrapped an arm around Ginny, holding her to her body, wanting to feel as close as possible to the younger woman, as they tried to calm their breathing. Several moments passed as both women basked in the afterglow of their love-making, enjoying the closeness.

Ginny was the first to move and she raised herself up and looked down into Hermione's face. "That was amazing," she said, before placing a little kiss on Hermione's lips.

"It was," replied Hermione. "I love you so much."

Ginny lowered her head once more, and they shared a very sweet, gentle kiss. "I was beginning to wonder when we'd ever get to do that again, let alone _where!_" she said as she rested her head back on Hermione's chest.

"I know. After today I thought it wouldn't be soon."

"If Dad had agreed with Mum's way of thinking, I think I might have run away."

"Really?"

"Yes," said Ginny. "Although, I'd probably only have got as far as Bill's and I'd hate to have caused him and Fleur more trouble, but they both did say I could live there."

"They both meant it too," said Hermione, as she smoothed strands of Ginny's hair. "They really support us. You're so lucky to have a brother and sister-in-law like that."

"I've learned that now," agreed Ginny. "I couldn't bear not seeing you. Even if we were stuck with only kisses for a while, at least I'd see you and be with you...which is better than not seeing you at all."

"Things aren't exactly sorted out, though, are they?" said Hermione with a sigh. "We don't know if your dad has made your mum see things differently or...or whether he's living at Bill and Fleur's now!?"

Ginny couldn't help but laugh. "Well, you did say there was a house of fugitives there when you stayed before!"

Hermione gave a chuckle and then said more seriously, "I hope your mother allows you to see me."

"It doesn't matter if she doesn't; I have options for places to live. I assume I could live here?"

"Of course you can," said Hermione. "But I'd hate to think you and your mum are separated like that forever. She doesn't have to like what we have or approve of it, or even let me near the house, but I hope you and she can at least be on speaking terms."

Giving a huge sigh, Ginny said, "You're right. I don't like the thought of breaking away from Mum like that, but you have to know that I won't stop loving you, and if she gave me an ultimatum, I'd choose you."

Hermione kissed Ginny's forehead. "I'd choose you too. I just hope in the near future, things will be better with your mum. You only have one."

"True. I think the world's glad there aren't two of _my_ Mum!" Ginny chuckled.

"Parents are a peculiar thing," said a very thoughtful Hermione. "A lot of the time we feel we're kept into line by them, and unfairly governed, but in times of need we turn to them. When they're gone...when they're gone, you need them more than ever. So many times I saw how Harry badly needed and wanted his parents. Neville as well. And they didn't have that option at all."

Ginny moved her head and saw that Hermione looked tearful again. "You're thinking about your mum and dad?"

Hermione nodded. "I still don't know where to begin with that. First I have to actually find them; Australia is a huge country. Then I have to find a way to talk to them and lift the memory charm...that's if I _can_ do that, which I'm not completely sure will work one-hundred percent. Then tell them what I did, and that's all before I even say, 'By the way, I have a girlfriend now!'"

"I've thought about finding your parents and I know they seem like our favourite people these days, but Bill and Fleur might be able to help," said Ginny.

"In what way?"

"Both have travelled a lot to various places, and are good at all kinds of spells, charms and counter-charms. I bet they'd have a good idea about how to start your search and the best way to try lifting your memory charm. If any of it is possible, then those two wouldn't be a bad place to start."

"I'd hate to ask them for even more help," said Hermione. "Besides, Fleur never mentioned anything when I talked to her about them?"

"She probably wants _you_ to ask _her,_ rather than offering to get involved and crowding you. I don't know everything about Fleur, but, as you know, Bill means it when he says he'll help people. I can't imagine him being with anyone that didn't think that way too," said Ginny.

"Hmm, perhaps I'll ask them, then...even if it's just to get an idea of how to begin," said Hermione tiredly. "I did say I'd wait until the situation with your family was more resolved...so I'll leave it for a little while."

"Well, whenever you want to start, you'll have me with you," said Ginny. "That's if you'll have me along? I mean, I'll give you space with your parents, but I want to be close at hand for you."

Hermione kissed the top of Ginny's head. "Thank you." Sighing she said, "At least I know the names to look for."

"What names did you give them?"

"Wendall and Monica Wilkins."

Ginny couldn't stop an immediate laugh in reaction. "Um...that's different, a little unusual."

"And Ginevra isn't?" asked Hermione.

"Well...it's...okay, my name's a little odd too. But, so is _your_ name!" said Ginny in good humour. "Anyway the names will be a start."

"I suppose the thing that might help an otherwise difficult task, is that I think I used a variation of _Obliviate, _not the usual thing. I only wanted them to forget they had me and to think of themselves as Wendall and Monica, with a yearning to live in Australia. I didn't completely wipe their memory."

"I think Bill and Fleur will definitely be able to help with the memory charm part as well as the location thing."

"Hmm," uttered Hermione in reply. "I'll put those thoughts to one side for a little while and wait until I can give it proper attention."

The two women enjoyed their physical closeness for a while longer, before sharing a bath and then going downstairs for some dinner. Miraculously the Hogwarts Elves had left some meals; neither of them knew that the school's kitchens even still stood, let alone were producing food once more. Hermione knew she had access to the Elves if she needed it, but it was a surprise to see that contact so soon.

Hermione and Ginny spent a quiet evening together, before having an early night. Both thought they would need to sleep, but after everything they had been through, they continued to feel a deep desirous need for each other, and made love again, before settling down. It was like needing reassurance that it wasn't some peculiar long dream. Making love only reaffirmed what they felt for each other, and that both their feelings and their situation were indeed real.

**A/N: Hopefully this chapter wasn't too 'strong' for everyone, and was read as tasteful and not smutty. I was giving the girls some relief and meaning to all the stress they'd been enduring. :)**


	72. State of Play

**A/N: I had fun with this chapter and it sets up some other potential things which may or may not happen. ;) Nope, I'm not going to tell you which bits **_**will **_**happen…wait and see. :) **

**There might be a small delay for the next chapter, it's longer than normal and I've got family visiting and a couple of appointments to get to. I'll try not to keep you waiting too long but my computer time will be limited this week.**

72: State of Play

It was now approaching eleven o'clock in the morning, on Tuesday 12 May, and four days after Ginny had found Hermione in Godric's Hollow; they had spent a truly relaxing time together, almost feeling like they were back in time again, only with no stressful task to complete. As they were sitting in the study looking at some old books, an owl arrived with a message from Bill and Fleur.

_Hope you are both well. The owl is a house-warming gift for you, Hermione, so you won't have trouble sending messages back and forth. Take care of him. We hope to see you soon. _

_Love Bill & Fleur_

"That was nice of them!" said Hermione, as she looked more closely at the barn owl sitting on the desk next to her in the study, where she had let the bird in.

Ginny read the note. "That _is _nice," she said, then looked at the bird. "What a beauty. I don't think it has a name, as they didn't mention one in the note?"

Hermione stroked the immaculate feathers on the owl's head and neck. "What shall I call him?"

"I don't think 'Draco' or 'Morfin' will be on that particular list," said Ginny drily.

"How about Hugo?"

"Hugo? Where did that come from?"

"I'm not sure," replied Hermione. "He looks like a Hugo."

This was a cue for Ginny to start laughing. "If owls could talk I'd love to know what he thinks of you saying he _looks _like a 'Hugo'?! It might be a terribly offensive word in barn owl society!"

Hermione stroked the newly named Hugo's head and leaned closer to him. "Don't take any notice of her."

After she stopped laughing, Ginny added, "You understood the less than hidden nudge about having no trouble sending messages back and forth?"

"Yes, I did get the not so subtle message," said Hermione. "I'm thinking we ought to go over to Shell Cottage and see how things are. It can't really be said on paper via owl. No one has tried to contact us before now; I'm not sure if that's good or bad?"

"I think I'd like to know if there's any news from the Burrow too," agreed Ginny. "It's a Tuesday; I suppose there's no reason why we can't go now and see if Fleur's around?"

"I'll just get something for Hugo, then we can go," said Hermione, as she went into the pantry and came back with some scraps of bacon. "I'll have to take a trip to Diagon Alley and buy some treats and things for him soon."

The two women walked out into the back garden and, wanting to keep to the rules a little, Hermione Side-Along Apparated Ginny. Moments later they were in the garden of Shell Cottage. Ginny staggered momentarily, but led the way to the house and gave a little knock, before opening the door.

"It's only us!" called Ginny, as they walked into Shell Cottage's kitchen.

Fleur appeared having walked through from the sitting room. "Hello!" she said, smiling, giving both of them a hug. "Bill's at work, so it's only me here."

"Thank you so much for Hugo," said Hermione.

"Hugo?" inquired Fleur.

"Hermione named the owl," said Ginny with a little giggle.

"Oh!" said Fleur with amused realization. "I'm glad you like him. It's lovely to see you, but you should have tried out _Hugo_ to send a message."

"Well, we wanted to know...if...," said Hermione, but she faltered.

"We wanted to know if there's any news from the Burrow?" asked Ginny.

"I see," said Fleur. "Come and sit down."

"It's not _that _bad, is it?" asked a worried Ginny.

"What?" replied Fleur, as they walked through to sit on a sofa and armchairs.

"You're taking us to sit down," clarified Ginny. "Is the news bad?"

"No. Sorry, I didn't mean to make you nervous," said Fleur with a smile. "I thought it would be better to sit comfortably."

Once seated Ginny probed further, "How's my Mum? I see Dad isn't here, so she didn't kick him out?"

"Kick him out?" Fleur gave a little laugh and put her hand to her mouth. "No, she wouldn't do that to him."

"When I left the other day she looked like she was about to explode at him," said Ginny.

"According to Ron, who came by to apologize to Bill and me," said Fleur, not waiting for the questions that that information might provoke. "Your mother was about to start a blazing row, then just sort of ended up in your dad's arms crying."

"Oh," said a mildly confused Ginny.

"Is she...is she all right?" asked Hermione.

"Yes, she's fine. I think it's everything from the past few days catching up with her; all of it."

"And Ron apologized?" Hermione asked, not wanting to let that subject be forgotten.

"Yes, he stopped by yesterday. He realized he had overstepped the mark in what he did to you and how he acted in our house," explained Fleur.

"Is _he _all right?" the brunette asked further.

"It's him who should be asking _you _that!" said Ginny to Hermione.

"I doubt that's going to happen any time soon," said Hermione. Then she sighed. "I ought to apologize too, really."

"What?!" said Ginny, stunned.

"Well, if I hadn't hit him, he wouldn't have hit me," stated Hermione; she shook her head. "Anyway, I wanted to know how he was."

"He's okay. I did offer to heal the bruises you both gave him, but he refused," said Fleur.

"Why?" asked Ginny.

"He said it would be a good reminder to him about being a prat, or something," Fleur explained.

"He sounds...calmer. Or is that just me being hopeful?" asked Hermione.

"He doesn't seem to be quite so angry. Bill had a beer with him and said he was really quiet."

"That's an improvement," said Ginny. "Although, if he sees me, it might just kick him off again."

"Sooo, back to Ginny's mum," said Hermione. "And her dad. Do you know how things are; you know, in regard to our situation?"

"I'm sorry, but I don't know much more, other than there being no huge argument after Ginny left." Fleur paused, looking from Hermione to Ginny. "I think you should see them again. Talk to them."

"Really?!" said Ginny, unable to stop her voice going up an octave. "A few days can't have made much difference?"

"Maybe, maybe not," replied Fleur. "But on the other hand, the more your mother sees you with Hermione, the more chance she will see that you're serious and it's what you both want."

"She has a point," said Hermione to Ginny. "If things go wrong again, you can always come back with me to Godric's Hollow."

There was silence in the room as all three women were deep in thought; all were thinking about the same subject, but in varying ways, with equally varying guesses at the outcomes of possible actions.

Ginny was the first to speak again. "I have another idea," she said. "But you have the last say, Hermione. If you say 'no', then I'll understand."

"What is it?"

"Why don't we invite my parents over to Godric's Hollow?"

"Are you serious?" asked Hermione, her eyebrows rising slightly.

"Yes," answered Ginny. "We can deflect the whole tension of things by showing them around what was essentially Dumbledore's house; share with them some of the things we faced when we went back in time, all that kind of thing."

"If I might add something to this?" asked Fleur, and when the other two women nodded their assent she said, "It might be good to approach them somewhere other than the Burrow, because the Burrow will have the memories of what happened there last time. Also, in Hermione's house, you are on your own territory...so to speak. I think it will help to defuse the situation a lot."

"You told them about the house there?" asked Hermione.

"Yes, when I let them know where Ginny was," replied Fleur.

Hermione put her head on one side, thinking things through. _It does make perfect sense, _she thought. _Mr. Weasley would make sure things don't get out of hand...especially as they'd be in my house, not theirs. _"Yes," she said. "I agree, it might be a good way of doing things."

"How about we invite them over for Sunday afternoon?" suggested Ginny. "I think I want a few more days without having to face them; it sounds awful, I know, but it also gives us time if we don't get an answer straight away. We can send a message with Hugo. It will be a Sunday, so I don't think Dad will have to worry about work or anything; there's hope they'll accept."

"Okay," said Hermione. "We might as well. And if things go wrong again..."

"Can we program the house to suddenly eject them?" said Ginny with a big grin.

"Don't tempt me!" said Hermione with a soft laugh. "Your dad's been good so far. It's just your mother we need to 'deal' with. Anyway, we'll invite them over and see what happens."

"Can I get you a drink or anything?" asked Fleur.

"I think we'll be getting back again," said Hermione, as she and Ginny stood up. "We'll get that message sent and hope we get a reply."

"Say 'hi' to Bill for us," said Ginny, as both she and Hermione hugged farewell to Fleur.

"Let us know how things go," said Fleur.

"Of course we will. We'll keep you posted," said Hermione, as they walked towards the door.

"Wait!" Fleur said, remembering something.

"What is it?" asked Ginny.

"I have something here that might interest you," said Fleur, as she rummaged through a huge pile of magazines and newspapers beside the sofa. Finding a newspaper she went back and handed it to the girls.

"It's a muggle newspaper," said Ginny, flatly.

"Yes," replied Fleur. "Um...well...I sort of have a job at the Ministry too now."

"You do?" asked Hermione, wondering how the two things were connected.

"I should have said something sooner. I knew about the possibility of it the day Bill got his job, but I'm not supposed to talk about it too much," smiled Fleur. "You see, it's mostly what would be called 'intelligence'. I've been able to work from home, as part of it has required me to read a lot of muggle newspapers lately, from areas of magical importance; looking for patterns or strange events that might signify Death Eater activity and that kind of thing. Hopefully the job will get more interesting than that eventually, but I'm happy with it so far."

"Right, so what would interest _us_ in that paper?" asked Ginny.

Hermione read the front page. "It's a newspaper from the Halifax area...oh, more specifically a local paper covering several rural villages including...Great and Little Hangleton."

"Oh crap, don't say something funky is going on there and the Ministry want Hermione to go back and check it out?" groaned Ginny, feeling a little apprehensive.

"No, no, nothing like that," said Fleur. "It's remained fairly quiet. I just thought you might be interested to know that there's an event happening there. Turn to page twelve."

Flicking the pages, past articles on the Women's Institute's cake sale, and a man's claim to have grown Britain's biggest turnip, Hermione looked at page twelve. Scanning the headers on the page, Hermione thought she'd found what Fleur was hinting at and read out the first couple of paragraphs.

"_Reunion: Great and Little Hangleton and the surrounding parishes are again proud to welcome World War Two veterans to a reunion at the former base here, which was used by the Americans during the conflict. It will be the 55th anniversary from the time the Americans first arrived and we look forward to welcoming back those veterans and friends, as our villages have done so for many years. The plans were received with enthusiasm on both sides of the Atlantic when this year's reunion was put forth last December. _

_The main reunion day will be celebrated on Saturday 16 May starting at noon, with stalls, refreshment tents, a Glenn Miller-style band, a parade of old vintage vehicles and people dressed in period costume; all finished off with a fly past by a Flying Fortress, Spitfire, Hurricane and Lancaster._

_'We expect a large contingent of our veterans and their families to make the trip, and as well as paying our respects at the large US military cemetery in Cambridge and visiting some other places of significance, while we're in the UK, a lot of us will be looking forward to the Saturday,' said Major Rivers (retired), the American veteran's association honorary president, who was stationed at the base between 1943-1944. 'It will be nice to see those villages we grew to love so much, once again. And...'_"

Hermione looked up from the newspaper, wide-eyed. "That Rivers bloke was one of the officers who came to see me in that hospital wing, remember, Ginny?"

"That's...that's just plain weird!" said Ginny. "He'd be an old man now?!"

"I _thought_ you'd be interested," said Fleur, knowingly. "Maybe your friends Matt and Joe will come over?"

"If they survived," said Hermione. "Unfortunately, they were just two soldiers amongst thousands, and if they took part in the D-Day landings, then it's a lottery as to which ones survived. Obviously this Rivers guy made it through."

"Do you think you'll go?" asked an intrigued Fleur.

"I don't know," said Hermione.

"It would be very strange to see that Rivers man again," said Ginny. "Could be awkward too."

"Well, I was going to send the article to you, but now you get to know about it sooner," said Fleur.

"Thanks," said Ginny. "It's creepy, but thanks." She smiled sheepishly.

"Anyway, we'll get back to Godric's Hollow," said Hermione, coming back to the present, having briefly been taken to her time in the hospital wing on the base.

In mere moments, Hermione and Ginny were back in the garden of the house in Godric's Hollow. As they walked back into the kitchen, and then through to the study, finding Hugo perched with his eyes shut on top of a lamp, they both sat down on chairs with resigned expelled breaths.

"The news about Mum and Dad was better than I thought," said Ginny.

"I'm glad there were no blazing rows between your parents after you left," said Hermione. "And even Ron seems to be less angry; although, the proof of that will be when he sees us again."

"Shall we get this letter sent, then?" asked Ginny. "Whether we think about going out on the Saturday or not, at least we can try to work out the Sunday."

"Might as well," said Hermione, as she opened a couple of drawers in the desk looking for a piece of paper or parchment. As she was about to start writing, she stopped, "How will they know how to get here?"

"Oh! I never thought of that," said Ginny. "I can't really Apparate them here either. I can't wait until I can take that bloody test and can stop relying on others!"

"They must have been to the village before, as your Auntie Muriel seemed to know it well, from what Harry said?"

"Yeah, I suppose my parents might have been here once or twice."

"Perhaps I should give directions, so they can aim for the rough area?"

"That might work. Say it's the magical end of the village and the very last cottage on its own at the edge of it," said Ginny. "And maybe mention the phoenix painted on the door."

"Okay. If not, maybe Fleur could bring them?" wondered Hermione. "Right, I'll get this written."

Hermione scratched away with her quill for a couple of minutes, pausing for a few seconds, before resuming her writing. A short time later, she put her quill down and handed the note to Ginny. "How does that sound?"

Ginny read out loud: _"Dear Mr. & Mrs. Weasley (Mum & Dad). We would really like to see you again to talk. We hated how things were left. At the very least come and see the house here in Godric's Hollow and have a cup of tea with us Sunday afternoon. We hope to receive a reply soon, via Hugo (the barn owl, a gift from Bill & Fleur). _

_Love, Hermione & Ginny_

_P.S. The house is the last cottage, by itself, at the edge of the magical side of the village. A phoenix is painted on the front door. If you have trouble finding us, Fleur knows where the house is._

"What do you think?" asked Hermione.

"It's fine. It says everything we need it to. If Mum doesn't want to come over, we can't force her; but maybe Dad will visit, at least."

"I hope so," said Hermione, as she folded up the letter small, wrote _"The Burrow" _on it and gently touched Hugo, before attaching the letter to his leg. "Off you go," she said, as she stood up and opened the window in the study. Hugo turned his white and beige head around to look at Hermione and Ginny, then hopped to the window sill and flew off on his errand.

Ginny walked up to Hermione's side and put an arm around her. "I'm so glad you have this house. It will sound like I'm using you, but I'm so pleased I have this option for a place to live."

"You're not using me," replied Hermione, turning to face the redhead, wrapping her arms around her waist. "We're in this together, and I consider this house as much yours as it is mine. It's a place we both loved from the moment we knew we were safe here."

"Hmm, and we first slept together here too," said Ginny with a crooked smile, as she raised a hand to cup Hermione's cheek. "This place has a lot of history for us."

"History in all meanings of the word!" said Hermione.

"Well, if someone had told me back at the beginning of the Battle, before we even knew about the Time-Turner business, that around two weeks later I'd be your lover, I'd have sent them to St. Mungo's!" said Ginny.

"This situation wasn't even at long odds, because no one would have been mad enough to offer it as a bet," said Hermione smiling. "I certainly didn't see that one coming."

Ginny leaned in and kissed Hermione's cheek, before whispering, "No, but I love to see _you_ coming."

Those words sent a little shiver through Hermione's body and made her take in a shaky deep breath. In their current stance, Ginny was pressing little kisses to Hermione's ear and neck, as the brunette then buried her nose in Ginny's hair, kissing the side the redhead's neck. Both drew back, before joining their lips for a very slow and steamy kiss.

Ginny moved a hand down Hermione's back and rested it on her backside, squeezing a buttock through trousers, pressing Hermione to her. The action made Hermione give a little moan. "I'm so glad it's only been you touching my arse lately," she said giving a breathy laugh, with Ginny giving her backside another squeeze in reply.

After a short while, Ginny had backed up Hermione against the desk and the brunette sat on the edge of it, opening her legs for Ginny to place herself, before wrapping her legs around the redhead, locking her into place. They both shared as many giggles as kisses, and often at the same time, something they had experienced a lot in the past couple of days, and never tiring of it.

Although both women were still clothed, they were immensely enjoying their actions. With more sensual kisses, Hermione laid back on the desk, her head propped up by a thick book. Ginny looked down at Hermione; looked at the way her hair flowed out onto the desk, the rise and fall of her chest as her body breathed faster from passionate fervour.

_Such a beautiful woman, _Ginny thought, _definitely not a young girl. And she's with me...she's mine?! _She moved her head from side to side slightly, almost like she couldn't quite believe everything all over again.

_Ginny looks...almost sad, _thought Hermione, as she looked up at the redhead. _Why sad? _"Everything okay, Gin?" she asked.

Hermione speaking brought Ginny back from her thoughts, as she leaned over her girlfriend more, brushing a hand against her cheek and down her body, briefly cupping a breast through the brunette's shirt. "Yes, everything's okay. More than okay. I was just...admiring you," said a now blushing Ginny. "Not quite believing we're together...again."

"I thought you looked sad about something?"

"Sad? No, not sad at all," replied Ginny, pressing some kisses to Hermione's cheek and chin. "Just feeling fortunate to have you in my life. It would be much poorer without you in it."

"I'm the fortunate one," said Hermione. "I nearly bloody lost you to that raving insane basket case, Bellatrix! I'm so glad that necklace worked and you stayed with me."

Looking and feeling a little tearful, but refusing to shed any tears for fear of breaking the moment, Ginny said, thoughtfully, "I'm not sure what I think happens when a person dies. I don't think everyone would have what Harry experienced, but if I'd gone somewhere like that, I would have fought and fought to find a way back to you." _I don't want this feeling we have here now, to turn into tears and 'what ifs', _thought Ginny. _I just want to feel her._

Hermione felt a little tearful herself, but before she could say any more, or acknowledge how close she was to shedding tears, Ginny captured her lips with her own in a powerful kiss. The kiss was deep, connecting them to the other in ways seen and unseen. Ginny rubbed a hand up and down the side of Hermione's body, making sure her hand caused some sensations over the brunette's hidden nipples, as her hand whisked over the material covering her lover's chest.

It wasn't long before Ginny felt Hermione move against her, seeking some pressure between her legs. Ginny naturally began to move her hips, thrusting against Hermione, as the brunette's legs wrapped around her waist and hips more tightly. If felt good to both of them, as they each felt some friction in all the right places.

Ginny moved her kisses from Hermione's lips to her neck, sucking and licking at the soft skin there. Licking at a particular place made Hermione squirm beneath her, moaning almost feebly as she melted under her lover's touch. The brunette kept grabbing handfuls of Ginny's shirt when she couldn't grip anything else, wanting to hold onto to something to keep her grounded.

A decision was quickly made in Ginny's mind as she felt the moment invade all of her senses. She lowered a hand between them and quickly and fluidly undid the button and fly of Hermione's trousers, pleased she had no embarrassing failure to do the manoeuvre. Hermione felt straight away what Ginny had in mind, and she moved her hips more, wordlessly telling Ginny that she agreed with her plan of action.

The clothing fastenings dealt with, Ginny kissed Hermione again as she slipped a hand into Hermione's trousers and into her underwear. They both sighed at the contact, as Ginny immediately felt the moist desire Hermione had gathered for her. It never failed to amaze Ginny, that she could be the cause of that and make someone else feel that way.

Hermione rolled and thrust her hips, rubbing herself against Ginny's very able hand. The fact they were both still clothed and doing this on a desk and spontaneously, seemed to heighten the passion they felt. Their lips joined again for a deep kiss, swallowing Hermione's moans as Ginny entered her with two fingers. The red-haired woman continued to move her own hips, sort of thrusting against the back of her own hand, with the thick seams of the inside of her jeans rubbing her in the place she needed pressure. Feeling Hermione's inner walls begin to grip her fingers, she quickened her pace, with both women's breaths coming in pants and delightful little moans.

"Shit! I'm...I'm coming!" Hermione announced, breathily.

"That's it, come for me," urged Ginny, as she kept the pace of her hand going.

In seconds Hermione fell over the edge, gripping Ginny tightly to her, with her body shaking and trembling from her release. As Ginny witnessed this she felt a pool of wetness between her own legs, finding herself still moving her hips against Hermione to feel a little friction; she was close to joining Hermione, just not quite there.

Hermione had sensed Ginny's need and although worn out from her own orgasm she sat up, pushing Ginny up to standing again, and with her legs still wrapped around the redhead, she quickly undid the fly of her lover's jeans. In seconds she was sliding her fingers into her girlfriend's slick folds. Hermione was mesmerized by how Ginny was immediately riding her hand, and decided to almost stop moving her fingers and let the redhead get herself off while she watched.

Ginny looked slightly puzzled at Hermione when she felt the movement between her legs essentially stop. "Do exactly what you need," said Hermione. "I'm not going anywhere."

Amusingly Ginny's cheeks went red, redder than just sexual exertion caused and she stopped moving. Hermione pulled her in for a kiss, then whispered, "You're really wet for me; you know what you want." Hermione entered her girlfriend with her fingers and stilled her hand again. "Use me," she said in a voice laden with desire.

The feeling of Hermione inside her, along with the words she had spoken, turned on Ginny to the point where she lost any shyness and found herself grinding against Hermione's nearly passive hand. She was so close; she knew it wouldn't take long. Ginny was glad that Hermione had her legs wrapped around her, because as usual in passionate embraces with the brunette, her legs were shaking and feeling unsteady.

Within a couple of minutes Ginny could feel her climax begin, Hermione could feel it too as she rubbed her free hand over her girlfriend's shirt-covered breasts, kneading the mounds firmly. Ginny's whole body shook as she came, calling out Hermione's name as she felt her legs want to collapse. Thankfully Hermione lay back on the desk again and pulled Ginny back down on top of her, as the redhead tried to calm her breathing and recover, her head resting on Hermione's chest.

"Merlin's beard, that was sexy!" said Hermione.

Ginny laughed, trying to get her breath back, "You could...say that! Whew!"

Several moments passed as they both relaxed. "Are you all right, Ginny?" asked Hermione, her arms still around the woman.

"Yeah. Fantastic in fact!" replied Ginny, as she rose up and gently kissed her girlfriend. "Thank the gods and fairies my parents weren't due to visit today!?"

"Hmm, I think this would have been much more than we wanted to share with them," said Hermione, amused.

"I think I'm relieved you have this house for another reason."

"What's that?"

"If we'd gone much longer without being able to be intimate, this little performance might have happened at Shell Cottage. Dan-ger-ous!"

"Hmm, I think despite what Fleur said, she wouldn't have been happy to find us doing _this_ on her kitchen table!" laughed Hermione.

They held each other for a little while longer, and after they shared another kiss and made a move to stand up, Hugo flew in through the open window. The barn owl gave a little squawk and fluttered over to the desk. Hermione zipped and buttoned up the fly of her trousers, unable to stop a huge grin while doing so; Ginny copied her, grinning just as broadly.

The redhead looked at Hugo first. "There's a letter!" She carefully removed the letter and handed it to Hermione, who unfolded the parchment:

_Dear Hermione & Ginny,_

_We'd love to see you and visit the house Sunday afternoon; we think we know where it is. We'll be over some time after 2pm if that's all right?_

_Look forward to seeing you,_

_Love Dad & Mum._

"Hmm," muttered Ginny.

"What?"

"_'Love Dad & Mum', _so Dad wrote it, then?"

"Here, take a look," said Hermione as she handed the letter over.

"Yeah, that's Dad's writing," replied Ginny, giving a tired sigh. "He must have a different shift today and was home to read our message."

"He might have written back, but it might not mean anything bad."

"It still looks like he's the one having to push Mum into visiting here."

Hermione got hold of Ginny's hand. "It can't be much worse than what happened at the Burrow, and this is _our_ house this time. Your dad seems to understand and support you. We can only wait and see what happens; at least we know that your mother is the awkward one, whereas before, we didn't know how either would take the news."

"I suppose so," said Ginny. "No good worrying over something we don't yet know, right?"

"Exactly," said Hermione. "I think we ought to make sure everywhere looks tidy for Sunday."

"Oh crap, you aren't going to go all house proud, are you?" asked a close to groaning Ginny.

"No. But I don't want to give your mum another reason why you can't stay here, or give her cause to put another black mark against my name."

"Ahh! I see," said Ginny, understanding. "I don't think much is out of place, but we might as well check each room."

"We can start here and check downstairs, then look at the upstairs before we go to bed."

"Have we got enough supplies? You know tea, cookies or something?"

"Yes, the Elves must keep a check on the pantry, because everything is well stocked," said Hermione.

"How will you contact the Elves to let them know if you want items or not? I never thought to ask about that?" wondered Ginny.

"Um...I don't know. After I spoke to Dumbledore when I found his letter, I think he sent them here automatically. I suppose I can send Hugo with a note..." Hermione thought hard. "But to whom do I address it?"

"Talk to Dumbledore again and ask."

"Hmm. It's not urgent and I expect he's very busy, but maybe I'll talk to him in a day or so," Hermione decided.

Ginny and Hermione spent the rest of the day making sure everywhere looked clean and tidy, preferring to get that part out of the way, so the rest of the week they didn't have so much to think about. There wasn't a lot to do, as it looked like the Elves had prepared the house for Hermione's arrival. The girls straightened up some books in the study, made sure everything looked neat and organized in the pantry and kitchen, checked the sitting room and the dining room, although the latter they had never really used.

After dinner, they checked the rooms upstairs. Ginny made sure their bedroom looked tidy, so there wasn't much that would need doing by the Sunday morning. There had been a small discussion on whether they should make the pretense of Ginny sleeping in the other bedroom, but it was such a huge lie and they had shared a bed for so long, even before they admitted their feelings for each other, that it was decided to leave things as they were; and as Hermione said, "My house, my rules!"

As Ginny made sure there were no stray socks on the floor under the bed that might get forgotten and the few clothes they had with them were tidy in the wardrobe, Hermione was looking in the other bedroom. Neither of them had stepped foot in there since their stay at the house in 1945. The few days they had been in Godric's Hollow this time, were spent in each other's arms, looking at things in the study or taking walks in the countryside.

"Oh my god!" exclaimed Hermione, suddenly.

Ginny walked through from the other bedroom. "What is it?"

"Look!" said Hermione, leaning on the open wardrobe door, and pointing to the space inside.

Walking further into the room, Ginny looked into the wardrobe; inside were the WAAF uniforms they had worn what seemed like barely a fortnight ago, but in reality had hung there for fifty-three years. "Wow! That's a blast from the past!"

"I can't believe Dumbledore left them there?"

"You're not going to go all nostalgic and want us to wear them again, are you?" asked Ginny, half in jest. "Oh god, you don't want us to actually go to that reunion in 'costume', do you?"

Hermione smiled, then hugged Ginny, "I don't know, you looked really good in uniform."

Ginny responded with a laugh. "So did you!"

"Hmm, never say never," said Hermione, in a fake dreamy voice, as she placed a kiss on Ginny's lips. "I can't even think about that Saturday thing properly yet...maybe tomorrow."

"Yeah, I'm not sure I can get my head around it either. Anyway, I think that's the upstairs done," said Ginny. "The portrait bedroom didn't need anything done; I've checked our room and that's all fine, as long as we don't make a drastic mess between now and Sunday."

"Well, I think I'm going to take a bath now, care to join me?"

"You don't need to ask!" said Ginny smiling. "I hope you might think about putting a shower in there too, one of these days."

"Yes, I've thought about that myself. It might be another thing I can ask Bill and Fleur, or even your dad, if we need to have a swift subject change."

Enjoying a bath together, relatively relaxed, Hermione and Ginny didn't talk much more about the impending visit of the Weasley parents; they continued to try and not worry about things they didn't yet know; they just enjoyed being with each other and sharing a silence that spoke volumes to them both.

By the time they dragged themselves out of the comfort of sharing a bath together, it was getting quite late, so they decided to turn in for the night. Hermione briefly went downstairs to check on Hugo, making sure the window in the study was open for him to come and go and hunt if he wanted to; not having the threat of potential burglars was a huge plus point about living in Dumbledore's warded house, making an open window overnight, safe. The location of the village was also a bonus as owls were not uncommon sights there. When Hermione got back to the bedroom, she and Ginny shared a slow goodnight kiss and then the two women cuddled up together and were asleep in minutes.


	73. New and Old

**A/N: For a long time, I was unsure whether to use this chapter, as I wrote it by itself to tie up some very small ends; a couple of issues of very little importance, but which I personally wanted to resolve. It's a longer chapter than my usual ones, but I'm happy with it, because it was something I thought about doing in the very early stages of even thinking up this story, and I was able to weave it in with my main story fairly easily.**

**So, apologies if you find it boring. :)**

73: New and Old

"So what plans do we have for today?" asked Ginny, finishing her cup of tea at breakfast the next morning.

"If you're okay with it, I'd like to go to Diagon Alley," replied Hermione.

"To get some things for Hugo?"

"Yes, but I'm also hoping to buy a new wand."

"Really?" said Ginny. "That's sort of exciting."

"It is," said Hermione smiling. "I'm hoping Ollivander's might be open again now. That man lives and breathes wands so I can't imagine him staying away from it for long. It will make me think of when I got my first one. I wish I knew what happened to it."

"If it was at the Malfoy's then it's anyone's guess what happened. They might have burned it, chucked it away, or it might even have got damaged being used by one of them?"

"No way to know. I don't think I can show up at Malfoy Manor, hammer on the door and demand they give it back. Besides, I don't think I could bear to go back to that place, let alone face any of them," said Hermione with nearly a shiver.

"I don't blame you about that," said Ginny, before she thought of a way to lighten the mood. "It's going to be fascinating to see what wand you end up with. It will be like a fresh start."

An hour and a half later found the two women in Diagon Alley. The last time they'd been there it had been 1945, and although the street hadn't changed much in that time, they were still aware of what was different or missing, or which premises and businesses were new.

"It's almost strange shopping here now," said Ginny. "This is the only Diagon Alley I really know, but I'm remembering more of the other one we went to recently."

"It's the same for me," answered Hermione as she looked around, pleased to see that already the Alley was nearly as good as it had always been, with people returned to their shops and any damage nearly invisible.

They reached Ollivander's shop, which had been restored to its previous state. It could never have been described as anything other than ancient and slightly dusty-looking, but at least it was open for business and not boarded up. Hermione gave a little smile to Ginny, and feeling like the eleven-year-old girl she had been the last time she'd entered the shop, she walked in.

The shop was empty and there were a few obvious gaps on the multitude of shelves, but it looked basically the same. Hermione walked up to the counter and not seeing or hearing anyone, rang the bell. Both women became aware of a shuffling sound, followed by the sound of a dropped box, before the very much aged Ollivander appeared behind the counter. His eyes fell onto Hermione immediately and he smiled warmly.

"Well, it _is_ wonderful to see you again, Miss Granger, simply wonderful," the old man said.

As pleasant as the man was, he always made Hermione feel unsettled and she was not entirely happy with how he had tried to hide certain things from Harry. It wasn't sinister, but it gave her the impression that he wasn't necessarily a good choice to confide in. _I don't have to trust him with anything other than finding a new wand, _she thought, _and I know that's one thing he does very well: make and sell wands. _"I'd like to buy a new wand," she said.

"Ah, I see. The wand of Madam Lestrange didn't work out for you, then?" Ollivander asked knowingly. On seeing Hermione look surprised he added, "I guessed when you and Mr. Potter asked me about her wand. Mr. Potter would not be using it because he already had one, if not more than one, answering to him. Mr. Weasley hadn't lost his, but you had. It was a simple deduction."

"It...it works for me," said Hermione. "But I want a proper wand of my own, and it seems very unlikely I'll ever find my original one."

"Of course, I understand. Let's make a start," said the old man kindly, as he turned, stared at a shelf of boxes and ran a finger down a particular stack. He looked about to slide a box out, when he shook his head and moved to the next row, sliding one of the long thin boxes from that stack instead. He placed the box on the counter and opened the lid. "Try that one."

Hermione looked to Ginny, giving her a grin, and walked forward a pace and picked up the wand. The wand was a medium brown colour, a little longer than her old one and she could feel tiny root-like ridges around it. She tested it in her hand, waving it around slightly, imagining the spells she would cast with it.

"No, sorry," said Hermione, as she placed the wand back into the box. "It doesn't feel...right."

"Not a problem," said Ollivander as he turned back to his shelves, climbed up two rungs of a step ladder and retrieved another boxed wand. As before, he set it on the counter for Hermione to try.

The second wand looked almost black, and was very smooth; so smooth that Hermione wondered if it had been varnished or coated in some kind of polishing wax. Again, she tested the wand in her hand and again it didn't feel right. "Sorry, not this one," she said, feeling a little guilty for giving extra work to the almost feeble-looking Ollivander.

"Worry not," said Ollivander, cheerfully. "As I've always said, 'the wand chooses the witch or wizard'. There _will_ be a wand in here that will choose you, fear not!"

After trying another three wands, all with unsatisfactory results, Hermione began to feel a bit down and after placing the latest wand back into its box she sighed. Ginny stepped closer to her and got hold of her hand. "You'll find one," the redhead reassured. Hermione gave a small smile back, feeling tired.

"No, no, remember what I said," said Ollivander, hearing and observing the conversation. "_You_ won't find one. _One_ will find you!" he said as he balanced precariously from his step ladder to find and retrieve another boxed wand. "Hmm," he uttered, halting his movement, deep in thought; he looked briefly at the two women and back at his shelves, before taking a second box from the shelf. "Not ideal, perhaps...hmm. Try this one first," he said opening one of the boxes.

Hermione held the wand; it felt different and if she had to describe the feeling she would have said 'almost familiar'. The wand didn't look like any wand she had tried so far. She waved it, and wondering if the wand was tuning into her, she dared to try a spell; she pointed it at a wooden chair in the shop and a little shoot of a flower sprung up from the seat.

"Well, it's working for you," said Ollivander, watching with interest.

"It feels odd," said Hermione. "It feels like I'm almost having to physically drag up the flower from the chair. It shouldn't feel like I'm fighting the magic I'm performing."

"Interesting," said Ollivander.

"What is?" asked Hermione, as she let the shooting plant disappear back into the chair and turned to face the wand maker.

"That wand has a twin core to that of Madam Lestrange's. The dragon heartstring core came from the same dragon."

"WHAT?" Hermione exclaimed. "_Why_ did you give me that one to try?"

"Forgive me, I tend not to focus on the negative emotional attachments when aiding the matching of wands, only the positive and true wand craft at work," explained Ollivander. "You made a very unyielding wand from an equally unyielding witch, work for you...to an extent. After trying completely new combinations with you, I decided to try something that you were connected to. I considered that a similar core would react to you, especially as your original one was also dragon heartstring. The situation may have been like the shared twin cores of Mr. Potter and He Who Must Not Be Named."

"Oh, I see," said Hermione more calmly, actually understanding the theory.

"Here, Miss Granger, try the next one. I think this one might well be better for you," said Ollivander kindly.

Hermione held the latest wand; it fit nicely into her hand and was about the same length and weight as her old original one. It felt comfortable. She flicked her hand and it felt fluid. She tried her flower charm on the chair again and the shoot sprang up and the flower's head bloomed.

"Very good," said Ollivander. "It _does _appear to be a better fit than the last one."

"Do you think it's the one?" asked Ginny.

"I'm not sure yet, but it's the best one I've tried so far," replied Hermione. She tried a quick levitation spell on the chair and it felt effortless. "Yes, this feels good."

"Let's see," said Ollivander, as he reached out a hand to take the wand back.

Placing the wand back in Ollivander's hand, Hermione felt a pulling sensation and it wasn't pleasant, like she shouldn't be handing over the wand at all. "I...I think that's the one," she said. "I can feel it still, even though it's not in my hand."

Ollivander held the wand and placed it near his ear, as a person might test a cigar. "I believe you have your new wand, Miss Granger; its allegiance has been found."

"Whew!" Hermione audibly sighed. "I thought I'd never find one!"

"Over the years I've had several much more difficult wand partnerships to find," Ollivander told her, as he handed back the wand. "I remember one such customer had to come back three days in a row until the right wand was matched with them. It cannot be rushed."

"Is there a reason for this wand choosing me?" asked an interested Hermione.

"Ahh, an intriguing question. I tried you with a twin core to Madam Lestrange and while that was not completely unsuccessful, it was not a perfect fit. Therefore I tried another twin core instead."

"Another twin core? Twin to which wand? To whom?" asked a very curious Hermione.

"Why, the other person standing in this room," said Ollivander with a smile.

"Ginny?" asked an incredulous Hermione. "Really? The core in this wand is a twin to hers?"

"Mine has a dragon heartstring core too," said Ginny. "So...so the cores came from the same dragon?"

"Indeed. It's none of my business, but when I saw you both and how you...well...anyway, I wondered if that might be an option. A wand maker observes, listens and considers," Ollivander said, but seeing Hermione and Ginny both blush slightly, he carried on, "I assume you want to use it straight away. Or would you like it in the box?"

"No thanks, I'll have it with me to use," said Hermione, feeling mildly flustered, as she made to hand over her payment.

"No, Miss Granger," said Ollivander. "I will not take payment from you. What you and your companions did for me, I will never forget. I am only too honoured to have supplied you with another wand."

"If you're sure?" asked Hermione, not all that comfortable being treated as though she were a celebrity.

"I'm very sure. If I can be of service to you in any way in the future, don't hesitate to call on me," said the wand maker, giving a small bow.

"Thank you," said Hermione, as she and Ginny turned and left the shop.

Once outside and both walking a few steps in the direction of the Magical Menagerie, Ginny spoke. "I'm not sure what just happened back there?"

"It seems that not only did we once share patronuses, but we now share similar wands," said Hermione grinning broadly. "I suppose that means I love you."

"_Suppose_?" asked Ginny, uncertainly.

"Well, I can't dump you now, can I?" explained Hermione, totally enjoying the banter. "I don't think I could go through all that crap to choose another wand, because I'm not sure my wand would work so good for me if we split up; it would be Voldemort and Harry all over again. So I'm stuck with you."

Ginny frowned, but immediately burst into laughter. "Bloody hell! So which one would you be?"

"Which one?"

"If we did a Harry and You Know Who?"

"I'd be Harry, of course," said Hermione.

"Are you saying I'm potentially evil?" said Ginny with a raised eyebrow.

Hermione leaned into her girlfriend, stopping them from walking and whispered in her ear. "Only in bed!" She then kissed Ginny's cheek. _I kissed her cheek in public! _she thought, as if the whole concept was a revelation.

_Hermione kissed my cheek in public! _thought Ginny, flustered for only a moment, as another thought followed it immediately. _And I don't give a rat's arse about it or who sees it!_

"Err, sorry about that," said Hermione. "I didn't mean to embarrass us."

"You didn't," said Ginny. "I'm fine with it. It's no one else's beeswax!"

They reached the Magical Menagerie's door and went in, still with a smile on both of their faces. Inside the shop it was quite noisy from the huge variety of animals all trying to squawk, squeak, croak or yowl louder than their fellow pets. Hermione was taken back to thinking of Crookshanks again and how he had landed on Ron's head in the shop.

"We'll have to move Crookshanks to Godric's Hollow," said Hermione. "It will be nice to have him with me again. There just hasn't been an appropriate moment to see to it and I don't know when there will be a good time. I'm surprised your mother didn't kick him out after that trouble at the Burrow?"

"No, she'd never hurt an animal like that. If she hated your guts she might even consider the cat was better off with her anyway and not being corrupted," said Ginny with a little laugh, trying to keep the conversation light and not think about her mother's reaction to Hermione again. "I think he liked the Burrow, but I'm sure having your house to explore will be of interest to him. As long as him and Hugo get along?"

"Crookshanks was fine with Hedwig, so I don't think there'll be a problem," said Hermione, as she looked at some large cages and some bags of owl treats.

"I think a cat would be crazy to try its luck with an owl," said Ginny. "The beak and talons would be enough for most cats to take the hint."

Hermione picked out some practical items, including a cage, much larger than Hedwig had had to make do with, some food supplements and a couple of perches to put up in the study, as that seemed the logical room for the owl to reside. When writing a letter it would be easier if the bird were nearby to send off or receive mail with.

Paying for all the items, still leaving a lot of the money Dumbledore had given them, Hermione and Ginny carried their items back out into Diagon Alley and back to the yard of The Leaky Cauldron to Disapparate back to Godric's Hollow.

Ginny was grumbling again, at having to be Side-Along Apparated. "I'll be bloody glad when I can do this myself!"

"Well, _I _know you can," said Hermione. "So when you turn seventeen and you can take the test, wherever that happens to be, you'll pass first time. You just need a little patience."

"Easy for you to say," mumbled Ginny, as she held Hermione's arm for their short journey.

They took all of their purchases into the study and Hugo hopped over and straight into his cage, inspecting it. Hermione flicked her new wand and set up the two perches she had bought; one she placed above the window and one was off the side of a bookcase. Hugo hopped out of his spacious cage and tested the perches out, squawked and then gobbled down a treat that Ginny fed to him.

"I think he approves, even of the cage," said Hermione. "I can easily shrink the cage to a travel size if I ever need to take him anywhere."

"Do you feel used to your wand already?" asked Ginny.

"Yeah, it feels how I remember my old one used to. Like you don't have to really think hard about using it, knowing it will be responsive."

"Funny about the cores, though?"

"It's sort of cute too," laughed Hermione.

XXXXXXXXXX

The next couple of days were spent mostly trying not to think about the Sunday, when Ginny's parents were due to visit, or at least her father. Hermione continued to try out her new wand, and found that she didn't really need to test herself with it at all; it was such a good fit with her. Hermione and Ginny also enjoyed each other's company, being intimate and not just physically. They found themselves talking about everything they had been through, sometimes finding tears but more often finding laughter; enjoying the comfort in being able to truly talk about anything, knowing that nothing was 'off limits' between them. They both felt much older than they were, from all the things they'd had to undertake and with how they'd been dealing with things since. In the afterglow of making love on the Friday evening, they talked together again.

"Bill and Fleur have treated us like adults from the moment we told them about us," said Hermione.

"Which is more than I can say about them letting me Apparate!"

"They're trying to keep you out of trouble," said Hermione, rolling her eyes at how often Ginny was complaining about not being allowed to Apparate.

"I know," groaned Ginny.

"I wonder what kind of mileage we covered when we did all that time-travel and Apparating, while we were away?" considered Hermione. "And that's not counting the several miles of walking we did too."

"I don't think it's possible to measure," replied Ginny. "How do you measure distance, when you're moving in time as well?"

"A very good question. A dreamy Ravenclaw might have a theory on that."

"Which nobody else would understand!" laughed Ginny.

"Hmm, Luna would probably tell us her calculations, but it would all be punctuated with weird statistics on unheard of plants' growing times or something."

"I had a dream about Luna when we were away."

"Oh?" questioned Hermione, hoping it wasn't the sexy kind.

Ginny felt the vibe from Hermione straight away. "No, not _that _kind of dream! Well, she wasn't doing anything with me, but she _was_ with Harry."

"Harry and Luna?!"

"As weird as it sounds, I thought they...worked," said Ginny. "After I had initial thoughts about smacking Luna across the chops, I then remembered I was with you and found the whole thing amusing. It was even funnier when she asked me if I wanted a threesome! You should have seen Harry's face!"

"I wish I could have seen _that_ dream!" laughed Hermione.

"When I saw them, before my patronus turned into your otter to chase the dementor away, Harry and Luna were talking together; they even shared a hug; it's weird, but I think they could be good for each other."

"Really?"

"Yeah. Not that I'd ever voice that opinion to Harry or to anyone else, but if it happened I think it would work," said Ginny. "It would certainly keep Harry alert, spending half his time trying to work out what she was saying."

"Hmm," said Hermione with a sigh, deep in thought.

"You don't agree?"

"Hmm? Oh no, I wasn't thinking about them, I was thinking about keeping partners alert and surprising them," said Hermione.

"Okay...and?"

"I'm going to Great Hangleton tomorrow, will you go with me?"

Ginny's jaw dropped slightly in genuine surprise. "You mean that reunion thing?"

"I'm not sure about that part yet, not about going to the actual base, but I'd like to go to the churchyard...I...it's...," Hermione faltered, trying to say what she was feeling.

Gently cupping Hermione's cheek, Ginny thought she understood. "You _need_ to go back there."

Hermione nodded slowly. "To me, the whole Gaunt thing started in Great Hangleton, as it was the last safe-ish place in the area, and it's where I ended up after...after getting injured. I liked the White Hart a lot and there are some things I would like to see and _need _to see, to sort of put it in perspective, allow myself to believe."

"I understand. Everything we did flew past, and especially what happened in those villages. Sometimes it all feels like a dream," said Ginny, stroking Hermione's cheek. "Of course I'll go with you. I'd like to see that place again myself."

"It must hold some horrible memories for you too?"

"Yes, when I didn't know where you were and all I had was a patch of blood on the ground to signify that you'd been there at all. BUT, it also holds wonderful memories, because it was in that village that I also discovered you were alive."

"We'll go in the morning, before everywhere potentially gets busier for that reunion. I just don't know if I want anything to do with that bit," said Hermione." Although, by going tomorrow, instead of another day, it gives us the option still."

"Well, let's go to Great Hangleton in the morning and see how we feel once we're there, okay?"

They settled themselves and despite the morning they had planned for the next day, both found a contented sleep.

XXXXXXXXXX

The Saturday morning arrived and Hermione awoke first, and for several moments she watched Ginny as the red-haired woman slept on. _I don't think I'll ever tire of waking up next to her, _she thought, as she finally leaned over and pressed a kiss to the woman's cheek.

Ginny stirred and slowly opened her eyes. "Mmrrnnn-nn-ing," she mumbled, failing to stifle a yawn, which turned into a smile, as she looked into Hermione's eyes. "Did I sleep in or something?"

"No, I just woke up and couldn't resist doing this," said Hermione, as she kissed Ginny's cheek again.

"Oh, that's all right then," Ginny said, amused. "So, are you still up for going out this morning?"

"Yes," replied Hermione. "You?"

"Absolutely. I think it's something we both need to do, or at least want to see again."

They both started their day, but nothing was rushed or completed in a nervous blur; both women were confident about going back to Great Hangleton and wanting to do so, and that made it feel like a fairly normal day.

Breakfast done, and Hugo taken care of, Hermione and Ginny stood in the kitchen ready to leave. "Now, this _does_ feel familiar," said Hermione.

"You mean the getting ready, standing in here, about to go out the back to Disapparate to somewhere on a mission of sorts?"

"Exactly."

"Except we're not wearing our WAAF uniforms, thank Merlin," said Ginny, with a grin.

"I don't know, maybe we _should_ wear them and go to the reunion," said Hermione, playfully. "They said some of the people will be in period costume."

"Err, no," said Ginny with a chuckle. "Although, if we bumped into that Rivers bloke we'd probably finish him off from shock!"

"That's partly why I'm not sure about that reunion," said Hermione. "It could be really awkward if anyone happens to remember us, or it nudges someone's memory that we weren't even aware of, but who saw us in the village back in 1943. And it would be beyond awkward if Matt or Joe were there. It's a little too risky."

"If we stick to Great Hangleton we're less likely to bump into anyone, as everyone will be at the base, which I remember being a couple of miles away."

"Yeah, that's my hope, that everyone will be there rather than in the village," said Hermione. "We could go a different day, but I feel ready today. Anyway, let's get going, if we're going."

As they stood in the back garden Ginny asked, "Where are we going to Disapparate to? Things might be different now; we can't assume the lanes or hedgerows are in the same places."

"I think the place least likely to have changed over the years is the churchyard, especially as it had its old original boundary wall. I'll aim for a corner away from the street and hope no one sees us, and if they do I'm hoping they'll think we were kneeling or looking at something on the ground and just stood up and became visible."

"Lead the way," said Ginny as she held on to Hermione's arm.

The two young women arrived in Great Hangleton churchyard, and despite the initial dizzying feelings, Ginny was aware that they stood in the corner of the churchyard opposite the corner where Hermione had lay injured in 1943. The red-haired woman couldn't stop herself from staring at the place, which didn't look all that much different, except that the shrubs were a little wider and taller.

"I'm thinking about that too," said Hermione, knowing what her girlfriend was thinking; she stared at the same place, before quickly looking around them to see if anyone had observed their arrival, or were looking in their direction. "No one has seen us, so that's something."

Hermione reached for Ginny's arm, and held her hand as she gave a big sigh and began to walk over to the place where she had nearly died. Ginny was taken back to the moments when she'd been searching for the patch of blood and had looked for Hermione's wand. It was only a few weeks ago to them, but it was fifty-five years ago to everything else in ordinary time.

On reaching the shrubby corner of the churchyard, Hermione turned and stared back at the church; it looked no different from the last time she had seen it. In truth, it probably hadn't looked much different for a couple of centuries or more.

"If the walls of that church could talk," said Hermione. "I wonder what tales it could tell. All the people and events it's witnessed."

"A bit like Hogwarts, then," said Ginny. "If you think of the ghosts and all the students they've seen pass through the halls and corridors; it's almost scary to think on."

There was a silence between them for a few moments, punctuated only by the _swoosh_ of cars passing in the nearby street. Hermione didn't know what she would feel on coming back to that exact place, but although it had sunk in, just what had happened and what they had achieved, she didn't feel as bad as she thought; in fact, she felt stronger and prouder of what they had accomplished.

"If you're okay with it," said Hermione. "I'm happy to take a little walk now."

"Yeah, I've found that I don't feel anything much now I'm here, just incredibly glad things turned out okay," replied Ginny. "It seems like an age ago that we were here; real, but a long time ago. I wonder if the pub is still a pub?"

"We'll walk in that direction; we should be able to see from across the street."

They walked towards another corner of the churchyard, which would take them to the wall facing the street. Lots of cars passed through and one or two motorbikes and scooters. The road they remembered had very little traffic and certainly not much of the motorized kind. On reaching the wall they could see through a gap in the hedgerows, across to where the pub had stood.

"That answers that!" said Ginny, as they looked across to the pub, which was still a pub.

The White Hart looked like it had been returned to its former glory; its beams and white plaster were clean and crisp and the pub's sign was a newly painted version of a white stag. The building had always been impressive and nice, but now it was simply beautiful.

Several people were in and out of the pub, including children, who seemed to be holding cans of drink. "I see they sell all kinds of things," said Hermione, observing the children. "I expect that's how they keep the place running, when so many village pubs are closing down. They try to provide different things for different people. I expect they'll be extra busy today with people stopping off on the way to the reunion, or coming back from it later."

"Do you want to go in there?" asked Ginny, not sure she wanted to herself, but she would accompany Hermione if the brunette wanted to go inside.

"No, I don't think I do," said Hermione. "It will be different inside. I don't think we need to go in there, unless you want to?"

"No. There _is_ something I'd like to do."

"What's that?"

"I'd like to go inside the church and see if we can find our names in the visitor's book," said Ginny. "I know it's silly, but I'd love to see it. I suppose they might have had lots of books since then, but maybe not."

"That _would _be fascinating," said Hermione. "I hope it's not locked up. Most churches these days are locked and I'm not sure I'm comfortable breaking in magically."

"Only one way to find out," said Ginny, holding Hermione's hand as she led them towards the porch and doorway.

As they approached the porch a group of people walked out of the church; an elderly man wearing a baseball cap adorned with a veteran's type badge, accompanied by an elderly woman, two younger men and two women with an even younger woman and youth. Three generations of the same family by appearances. They nodded at Ginny and Hermione as they passed, continuing a conversation about the old stone font they'd just seen inside.

Hermione leaned in closer to Ginny, once the little group had passed. "They're Americans; one of them is a veteran, probably going to the reunion later."

"I thought I picked up the accent," said Ginny. "Oh well, at least we know the church is open, probably in case anyone's around today and wants a look."

They walked into the church and saw a couple of other people further up the nave, inspecting the named slabs in the aisle, which marked the last resting places of long ago patrons, priests and other important people. There were also a couple of elderly men sitting in a pew talking, both dressed similarly; Hermione and Ginny detected American accents again; the two men looked in their direction but went back to their conversation. The girls spotted the same table at the back of the church, where the visitor's book had been before. They walked over to it and discovered that the book was indeed on the table. Hermione put her thumb in the open page and flicked the book back to the first page, for the date of its first entry. "Hmm, 1982," she said, disappointed. "Too late for us."

"What are these?" asked Ginny, pointing to a stack of ledger type books the same size as the current visitor's book.

Looking around them to see if anyone was watching them, unsure if they should be touching the stack of books, Hermione picked one up and flicked the pages. "I think they _are_ previous books."

"So, we might be in one of them?"

The book Hermione held went back to 1964. "I'm hoping it will be the next one," she said, exchanging the book for the one stacked under it. "1952," she said, flicking pages from back to front. "50...48...46...45...ahh, 43!"

"It was March, wasn't it?" said Ginny.

"Yes...just...a...moment...," Hermione said, finding entries for April, flipping over another page and running her index finger down the names. "Here!" she said, in a loud whisper, as she placed the open book onto the table so they could both see it.

There in clear pencil were the names of Matt and Joe, and then 'Helen' and 'Joan' accompanied by Joe's additional comment about 'Having an awesome time with England's best two WAAFs.'

"It's been here fifty-five years!" said Ginny. "It's really weird. I think I'm finding it harder to get my head around than seeing the shrubs where you were injured."

Hermione stared at the book, reading and rereading the names on the page, which had coloured with age and had a spot or two of foxing. "What we were doing was sooo dangerous," she said. "This is proof that we really were here, back _then_. It's bizarre!"

They stood there for a few minutes, taking in the extraordinary feelings their viewing of the visitor's book had given them.

"Ginny," said Hermione, breaking the silence. "I don't think I need to go near the base. How do you feel about it?"

"I don't need to go there," said Ginny. "It doesn't hold that much emotion, only that I finally found you there and then it was spent thinking how to get away from the place. I'm not sure I want to run into anyone who might know us."

"As we considered before, it could be very awkward; with us actually being there on the premises again, it might stir memories in the wrong people. Let's have a little look around the churchyard and then we can go, okay?"

"Are you thinking Lottie and Alf are out there?"

"I don't know; part of me knows they've passed away, because they had to be in at least their fifties in 1943, and so part of me would find it comforting to see their graves, if they're here. Another piece of our puzzle understood and all that."

"I understand, completely. Is there a chance they aren't buried here?" asked Ginny.

"Well the churchyard doesn't look full and a lot of villages still bury people in the churchyard, it's only more populated places that have had to buy up more land for additional cemeteries. We can try and look. I thought when we gazed around earlier, that it looked like there were newer headstones the other side of the path from where we looked at the pub."

"Let's start there, then," said Ginny.

As Hermione was placing the visitor's books back in order the small group of people they had passed on the way in, walked back into the church again. One of the younger men walked towards the table.

"Excuse me," the man said. "Is that a visitor's book you've signed?"

"Yes, we were just looking at it," said Hermione, as she put the last book on the stack and placed the current book to the middle of the table again.

"There you go Dad, we can all sign," said the man to the elderly man who was obviously his father. "A shame you couldn't have remembered you wanted to do that _before_ we walked out of here the first time!"

Hermione and Ginny gave a small nod and a smile as they walked away towards the door, leaving the table to the group of Americans. As they reached the outside of the porch, they walked down the path a short way before stepping off onto the grass, aiming for the row of newer-looking gravestones on the right side.

"Have I mentioned that I hate looking for gravestones?" said Ginny, finding herself being taken back to her devastating dream about Hermione's grave. Thankfully there were no tombs here that looked like Fred's.

"Sorry," said Hermione, knowing why Ginny felt that way, as she looked at the names and dates. "One here for this year, a couple for 1994..."

"Surely more people died in this village than that?"

"Probably, but some might have been buried at another church or cemetery and a lot of people get cremated and have their ashes scattered somewhere instead of interred. I think it's rare these days for a person to live their whole life in a village like this. And also, not everyone goes to the expense of a gravestone," explained Hermione.

"I'm not sure I want to be buried; my awful dream aside, it seems so cold," said Ginny. "Burying seems so...rooted." They walked into the next couple of rows as Ginny spoke. "Initially I liked the idea of Fred being near the Burrow, but the times I've thought on it since, it seems so limited."

"I hate to point this out," said Hermione. "But you'll be dead, so you won't know much about it and you certainly won't be able to move...not your body, anyway." Although she was trying to keep the conversation cheerful, Hermione didn't like thinking about Ginny being dead, in any way or in any future, however inevitable it would be.

"I know. It's just...constrictive. I like the idea of being free to float wherever I want to, and not be stuck to haunting my Dad's shed."

"Some muggle people have their ashes scattered by being placed in a firework rocket, so they end up scattered in the sky and over a wide area," said Hermione, as she looked at stones showing death dates for the 1980s.

"That sounds...well, it actually sounds quite good," said Ginny, thinking on it. "I used to think the ghosts at Hogwarts were brilliant, but if you look at it, enduring school year after school year is bloody boring! The same snotty kids taking the piss, or insulting you; being a Hogwarts' ghost isn't what it's cracked up to...," Hermione had stopped causing Ginny to bump into her.

She looked to where Hermione was focusing and saw that they had found what they were looking for. "I think...this is it," said Hermione in a quiet voice, as she crouched down to read the stone, which was quite large and only slightly weathered by age.

_'In Loving Memory of Alfred Douglas Jacobs, who died on 15th March 1944 aged 28...'_

"Wait a moment," said Hermione. "Twenty-eight? Alf was older than...," she glanced further down the stone.

"I think he's their son," said Ginny, as she'd continued reading further down. "Alf and Lottie are below his name."

_'Also of Alfred John Jacobs who died on 22nd April 1971 aged 83, and his dear wife Charlotte Sarah Jacobs who died on 12th September 1978 aged 87. It's nice to know we'll meet again, where parting is no more, and where the one we loved so well has only gone before. Reunited and at peace. '_

"That's them," said Ginny, as she crouched down next to Hermione. "That verse is sad, but kind of uplifting too. I never knew they had a son?"

"Me neither. I never saw any photos of him around the pub, or of anyone else. Going by the date I would say he was killed in World War Two. He might even have been brought back to England wounded and sadly succumbed to those wounds," said Hermione.

Ginny sighed. "Seeing this, I feel so bad that I never even asked if they had any children..."

"They might not have told you had you even asked."

Hermione and Ginny both jumped at the sound of a man's voice. Both sprang to their feet, to find themselves faced by the old man they had seen with the group of people going out and back into the church.

"You...you knew them?" asked Hermione, feeling as though her heart had tried to escape up her throat.

"Yeah," said the man, in only a slightly drawling American accent. "Real nice people; always looking out for all us boys. Always a smile, a beer and a kind word. They were devastated over their son. His plane had to make a crash landing with a full load of bombs on board, and it blew up, killing all the crew. They never talked about him much before then, because they thought they were tempting fate or something, but when he was killed it broke their hearts and for years after. Such good people." The old man paused and looked at the two women. "But there, I don't need to say too much, because as impossible as it is, you knew them too, didn't you?"

"Err..._knew_ them?" Hermione said, trying to deflect something awkward, and then remembering that she and Ginny had been talking about Lottie and Alf, as well as talking about the son. If Alf and Lottie died in the 1970s, then it was improbable that two women as young as Hermione and Ginny could possibly have known them; they were born _after _the Jacobs' had died. "We...err...had a relative..."

"Yes, an old aunt," said Ginny, coming to the rescue. "She knew them and we thought...err...we'd pay our respects to them for her." _Bloody hell, I didn't think I'd have to use the old 'aunt' scenario so soon again! _she thought.

_Good old Ginny and her mystical 'aunt'! _thought Hermione, amused. _That 'aunt' has a lot to answer for._

"Well, I might not be as sprightly as I was, or have the memory I used to, but I've always remembered the girls I've kissed," said the old man. "And of them all, I've never ever forgotten you, Helen," he said, directed at Hermione.

"Helen?" Hermione could only answer, her mind speeding off in all directions but finding nothing to help.

Ginny was equally dumbstruck, but she realized quickly that they couldn't lie much further, and she already had a suspicion about the identity of this old man, however wrinkled the face was. Even with a baseball hat on, she remembered those brown eyes, however much age and the thick pair of glasses the man was wearing, altered their depth and definition.

"Matt?" Ginny asked. "You're Matt Riccardi, aren't you?"

"Last time I checked my passport," he grinned. "But obviously I must have been doing something wrong, because you two haven't changed a bit, whereas me, I'm at the shrivelled up prune stage!"

"Err," Hermione uttered, unable to find any words.

"I always knew there was something odd about your two. A pretty mystery, but still a mystery," said Matt.

"You're here for the reunion?" asked Ginny, almost stumbling over her own words.

"Yeah. I've been back lots of times since the War. I've always visited here and always called on Alf and Lottie, and since they sadly departed I've always visited their grave. The least I could do for their kindness."

"What...err...I hope you don't mind me asking," said Hermione. "What happened to Joe? Did he...did he survive the War? Is he over here for the reunion too?"

"No," said Matt, who looked away from them and stared back at the church a moment. "No, poor Joe took a bullet in the leg a couple of days after the D Day landings. It got infected and he had to have his leg amputated, poor guy." He saw the sad looks from the two women. "He didn't die then, hell no, he lived years like that and came back here with me several times. But, sadly he passed away three years ago; his heart. Whatever the doctors said, that guy had the heart of a lion, and not a day goes by when I don't think of him."

"I'm sorry," said Hermione.

"So, do I get some answers?" asked Matt. "As soon as I recognized you two I wanted to ask you outright, but I figured you wouldn't say anything with all my family around me. I went to a lot of trouble to drag them back into the church, to prove to myself that I wasn't seeing things."

"They were your family?" asked Ginny.

"Yup. My wife Margaret, my two boys, my daughter, daughter-in-law and two of my grandchildren," replied Matt proudly. "My daughter's called Helen; it always stayed with me as a good name. So let's get back to answers."

"I'm not sure what we can tell you," said Hermione.

"I kept your secrets back then, and I'll keep them now," said Matt. "Hell, I'm nearly eighty, what can a stupid old fool like me do about any of it? Let alone be believed? If I said anything they'd think I was senile...or brain damaged, as you suggested when you got us to pretend to be unconscious," he laughed

Hermione looked to Ginny and Ginny looked at Hermione, trying to work out what they could say or how they could say it. Ginny tilted her head to one side, shrugged her shoulders and then nodded. Hermione nodded her head in reply; they were so tuned in to each other from their experiences, that somehow they had reached the decision to mostly tell the truth, without breathing a word or whisper; expressions and body language replaced words.

"We weren't WAAFs," said Hermione.

"I figured that out for myself," chuckled Matt.

"We weren't working on anything for World War Two either," Hermione said.

"What _were_ you doing?" the man asked.

"We were doing something for another war," said Ginny carefully, knowing that her next sentence would provoke problems. "A war that...um...only finished a couple of weeks ago."

"A couple of weeks ago?" asked Matt, confused.

"The thing is," said Hermione. "To us, we only saw you about a month ago, but in reality it's fifty-five years ago."

"You time-travel?" he asked, surprising the two women with how easily he asked it.

"Only that time really, but yes we did. I know it must be hard to believe what you're being told," said Hermione.

"And witnessing you two escape a US Army base right in front of our eyes _isn't _hard to believe?" said Matt with a grin.

"Ahhh yes...we hope you didn't get into too much trouble over that?" said Hermione, sheepishly.

"Not really, we escaped a Court Martial and anything serious because our officers didn't have a clue _what_ you were either. I think they were scared of pissing off the British so much that nothing much was made of it. Or they didn't want it getting out that they'd let a couple of Nazi spies escape. They had Joe and me on crappy duties for three months...you know, cleaning toilets, peeling potatoes. So it could have been much worse. I think everyone was so embarrassed that no one spoke about how two girls escaped our base."

"Sorry about that," said Ginny. "But we still really appreciate your help."

"Did you use something like on Star Trek?" Matt asked.

Ginny looked confused but Hermione answered. "Not exactly," she said, thinking of a way to tell the man about magic without it being complicated or telling him everything. "The war we were involved with was to do with a...a secret society within Britain. Certain people who show particular abilities are recruited and trained in special ways, and when a break away sect, led by a man with the same sort of ideas as Hitler, started to cause trouble, the only way to win and to get rid of the threat was to go back and change a couple of vital, but unseen...elements. To cut a long story short, what we did worked."

"Hmm," said Matt, considering. "I always wondered how you got injured; was it one of the bad sect using _their _abilities?"

"Yes," said Hermione.

"I'm not saying I understand much of what you said, but I'm guessing that's about all you can tell me that _will _make any sense."

"You...you accept what we just told you?" asked an incredulous Hermione.

"In my time in the army, during our War, we saw and heard some pretty odd things. Weapons, plans and the horrors the Nazis and Japs left behind; after the first few surprises and shocks you get to learn what's true and what's possible. I can see you're telling me the truth or as much as you can, and I think I kind of get it, as crazy as that sounds." Matt paused. "I guess your names aren't really Helen and Joan either?"

"No," replied Hermione. "I'm Hermione and my friend is Ginny."

"You called her 'Gin' a few times," Matt remembered. "If you think I'm going to change my daughter's name to Hermione, you can think again!" A small pause of silence was broken by laughter. The whole scene was surreal and yet here they were.

"Are you girls going to the base today?" asked Matt.

"We don't think so," said Ginny. "_You_ recognized us and I don't know if we want to attract any more attention for those reasons."

"I get that," Matt sighed. "Joe and me always said we'd find you two again, but I never thought I'd see you completely unaged from the day you left?!" He turned and they all saw that one of his sons was waiting on the path for him. "I have to get going, now."

"Thank you again, Matt," said Hermione. "I wouldn't be here if it wasn't for you and Joe, and we wouldn't be here if you hadn't helped us to escape the base too. We've talked about you a lot; we'll never forget you or what you did for us."

"I'd do the same again," said Matt as he held out his hand to shake Hermione's.

Hermione surprised herself slightly when she held the hand, then leaned in and hugged the old man. When Matt held his hand out for Ginny, she hugged him too.

"It's been wonderful to see you again," said Matt Riccardi. He put a hand in the pocket of his jacket and pulled out a little card and handed it to Hermione. "Here's my address, send me a Christmas card," he said with a chuckle. "If you're ever in the States near Syracuse, come and see me."

Unable to think of anything to say Hermione just nodded and looked at the little card, which was a neatly set out business card with his name, address and phone number.

"Take care, and stay out of trouble girls," said Matt, giving Hermione and Ginny a brilliant smile. Before he turned to walk back to his waiting son, both women could see that the old man had been close to tears.

As they watched Matt walk away and then through the church gate, Hermione and Ginny felt tearful too. It had been such an emotional journey to go back to Great Hangleton, to find Alf and Lottie's grave and then to meet Matt again.

"It's bloody crazy!" said Ginny. "Life keeps on throwing up surprises and shocks doesn't it?"

"I'm almost lost for words. I feel so many things," said Hermione. "Happiness and sadness in equal measure. What an amazing man."

"Yeah, still as charming as ever too," said Ginny, as they both continued to look at the place where moments before Matt had stood. "Are we going back now?"

"There's nothing left to do here, and to be honest, I'm really tired," said Hermione. "If I'm going to survive your parents tomorrow, I think spending the rest of Saturday quietly, might be a good plan."

Ginny wrapped an arm around Hermione, leaned in and kissed her cheek. "Sounds good to me."

They walked back slowly to the corner of the churchyard they had Apparated to and, holding hands, Hermione Side-Along Apparated Ginny back to Godric's Hollow. Feeling fatigued from everything they had faced, they made do with a small lunch of sandwiches and then they both decided to have a lie down.

"It all really happened, didn't it?" said Hermione. "Everything. Us being there...?"

"Yeah, it all happened," said Ginny, sensing Hermione was still feeling emotional. "But we made it through. We got away from there and everything turned out fine."

Hermione gave a huge sigh and then wrapped her arms around Ginny. "Hold me. I'm being a daft twit, I know, but I'm never happier than when I'm in your arms and you're in mine."

"I love you, Hermione," said Ginny, giving her girlfriend a gentle kiss, before holding her back.

After a short doze they spent the rest of the afternoon together on the bed, talking and just relaxing as much as they could, because they both knew the next day would be another challenge.

**A/N: When I wrote this chapter I think I went through nearly as many emotions as Hermione and Ginny...the great big sap that I am. :) Over the years with my love of genealogy I've spent a lot of time in churchyards looking at gravestones; and when I've looked for ancestors or people related to other research, I've always loved finding unusual epitaphs. The verse I gave Lottie and Alf's grave actually features on one of my ancestor's graves and I thought it fit in well with what I wanted. I'd love to take credit for those words, but I can't. :)**


	74. Understanding

**A/N: This chapter is sort of half of a two-parter. I'll hopefully have the next chapter ready for my usual weekly update. I didn't have time to check Chapter 75 as well, or I'd have posted it with this one. Only a teeny-weeny cliffhanger. :) I've put another A/N at the end of the chapter.**

74: Understanding

An amazingly dreamless night for both women, led them to a fidgety morning, followed by a nervous lunch before the early afternoon approached, making them fidgety again as they sat in the sitting room.

"I was less nervous having to go to Hepzibah Smith's house than waiting for this," stated Hermione, as they both waited for Ginny's parents to arrive.

"I thought we were just going to see how things went and not worry about things we don't yet know? That 'here' can't be worse than what happened at the Burrow?"

"So why are _you _just as fidget-arsed as me, then?"

"Err...reacting in sympathy?!" said Ginny, with a smirk. "All right, I'm a bit apprehensive too."

Hermione looked at the clock in the room and saw it was a minute after two o'clock. "I hope they can find the house."

"I'm sure they will," replied Ginny.

"I wish your dad had said an exact time they were going to arrive," said Hermione, bordering on becoming irritable now. "Dumbledore was always here exactly when he said, sometimes earlier."

"Well, my parents aren't Dumbledore, are they?" Ginny got up from her armchair and went over to Hermione; she leaned over, resting her weight with her hands on the arms of Hermione's chair, so her face was close to her girlfriend's. "We're going to be fine and we're together. I can't get banished to my room here."

"_I_ could banish you to _our_ room," said Hermione, trying to keep a straight face and failing.

"I'd like to see you try?!" said Ginny, as she leaned in and kissed Hermione, hoping and succeeding to relax her. A loud knock on the front door from the ring in Humphrey the door knocker's mouth, broke them apart, making them almost jump.

"They're here!" said Hermione, making to stand up. "I think we should go to the door together."

"Okay, lead the way," said Ginny, feeling a little bit of nerves herself, having not seen her parents for a few days.

Hermione took a couple of deep breaths, determined she would try to keep pleasant to Mrs. Weasley however fearful and annoyed she might be made to feel that afternoon. Taking another deep breath, checking Ginny was with her, she opened the door.

"That door knocker's eyes move!?" said Mr. Weasley.

"He talks too, if you can get him to release the key in his mouth," said Hermione.

"Does he really?"

"Arthur! We're not here to talk to door knockers," said Mrs. Weasley, giving her husband a disapproving look.

"Come in," Hermione gestured to their two guests.

Mr. Weasley placed a friendly hand on Hermione's shoulder and then hugged Ginny. "Everything okay, love?" he asked his daughter quietly.

"Yeah. Well, so far today," replied Ginny.

"Can I take your coat?" Hermione asked Mrs. Weasley, who hadn't said anything to her yet, but looked at her with half a smile. _That might not even have been half a smile, _Hermione thought, _it could be her gritting her teeth trying to stop herself from saying something._

"Thank you," said Mrs. Weasley, as she took off the lightweight jacket she'd been wearing. Ginny handled her father's coat and both garments were hung on hooks in the hallway.

"This way," said Hermione, as she led Mr. and Mrs. Weasley into the sitting room, letting them take a seat.

"Lovely," said Mr. Weasley, sitting in one of the armchairs. "To think Dumbledore lived here. I never would have had him living in a simple cottage like this. Auntie Muriel used to babble on about the village, but it's hard not to tune out when she's on one of her rambles about the old days."

"It was a surprise to us too, when we found out," said Hermione. "Had Ginny not seen the painted phoenix on the bottom of the front door, I'm not sure we'd have found this house in 1943 at all. It just didn't look like a place Dumbledore might have lived in."

"She's exaggerating a little," said Ginny. "I didn't see a phoenix on the door. I thought I saw a live pheasant in the garden, because I was hungry. The glimpse of it as we walked past made me think of the lovely way you cook pheasant, Mum."

Mrs. Weasley gave a genuine smile. "My mother taught me how to cook pheasant properly, and she learned it from _her_ mother."

"Everyone want a cup of tea?" asked Ginny.

"That would be nice," said her father.

"Won't be a tick," said Ginny, standing and about to walk off to the kitchen.

"Let me come and help," said Mrs. Weasley, rising from the sofa. "I'd like a look at the kitchen."

Ginny wasn't completely able to hide her expression of mild surprise, as she looked from her mother to Hermione. The latter also didn't hide a similar expression. As Hermione watched Ginny and her mother leave the room, she realized that Mr. Weasley was looking at her now.

"Expecting her to still be spitting fire?" asked Mr. Weasley in a quiet voice.

"No, not fire, exactly."

"Molly is doing better. I've talked with her a lot. It's not really my place to tell you what she's thinking or feeling, but I doubt she'll lash out at either of you."

"I'm sorry...," began Hermione. "I'm so sorry about everything that's happened. You've had so much to deal with and this can't have helped?"

"It's not your fault, Hermione, nor Ginny's fault," Mr. Weasley said kindly. "You can't change how you feel. You can't help the timing of it all either. Things just happen; that's life. And lately that's meant chaos for us."

"How...how's Ron?"

"Also better. I think he's broken through his anger now," said Mr. Weasley. "I think he had to grieve, not only for Fred but for you. I think it all got mixed up inside the lad and that's why he acted the way he did. It isn't to say he was right, but he did have his reasons, as did you two."

"I'm sorry for how much we've hurt him," admitted Hermione. "Of course we've hated how he's acted since he found out, but I don't actually blame him for it. He had good reason to feel the way he did."

"He's a bit subdued and sad now," said Mr. Weasley. "He's gone to stay with Harry again for a day or two, at Grimmauld Place. I think they wanted to look through some of the interesting and creepy objects in the attic."

"I...I want to thank you, for...for...," Hermione faltered, not sure of how describe what she wanted to thank Arthur Weasley for.

"For making sure Ginny had one parent she could confide in?" the man offered. "And that I didn't act irrational?"

"I wouldn't perhaps have put it that way, but I think had you reacted the same as Mrs. Weasley, Ginny might have run away for good, and not necessarily to Bill's or to me," said Hermione. "She loves you both so much, it would have torn her apart. I think she desperately wants things to be okay with her mum again."

"We can only give things time, and hope," said Mr. Weasley. "Now, as I understand it, this is your house? Dumbledore signed it over to you?"

Hermione then told Mr. Weasley all about the letter and the circumstances that brought her back to the house at all.

Meanwhile, in the kitchen Ginny went to the kettle, intending to use the slow method of boiling water up on the range stove.

"Oh, this is a beautiful little kitchen," said Mrs. Weasley as she looked around, inspecting the stove, looking at the sink and the table and two chairs.

"We always liked it," said Ginny, feeling slightly awkward around her mother, unsure of how things truly were between them. "We never used the dining room, we always ate in here."

"I can see why. It's cosy and friendly."

_Unlike you were, last time we spoke, Mum, _thought Ginny. "There's a scullery through there, leading out to the back garden, although with a good cleaning spell we never used it to wash clothes or anything. And that little door over there leads to the..."

"Pantry," said Mrs. Weasley, as she'd already opened the door to it and was inspecting the shelves. "You're very well stocked. Did Hermione buy groceries in the village?"

"No, the Hogwarts Elves bring things every day."

"Hogwarts Elves?"

"Hermione isn't sure how she goes about contacting them, but Dumbledore says she can get them to bring her whatever she wants, as long as she has the house. Dumbledore's sent them every day so far; we'll have to talk to him to ask how to cancel or ask for things."

"Talk to Dumbledore?" asked Mrs. Weasley. "You have to go to Hogwarts and talk to his portrait every time you want to pass a message to the Elves? That doesn't sound ideal?"

"We'll show you later, Mum, but upstairs there's a painting," said Ginny, deciding to try and talk as she might normally and refrain from thinking of other matters. "When we were here in the 1940's we had to communicate with a portrait of his mother, but since Dumbledore and his brother decided to give the house to Hermione, the painting was replaced. It holds Dumbledore himself; well, when we need to call him, anyway."

"You have a direct line of communication with Dumbledore?!" Mrs. Weasley said slightly disbelieving.

"Yes, but we won't bother him much. I think Hermione finds it comforting, knowing that if she has any big magical issues, she has someone to talk to for advice."

Ginny was about to pour the hot water into the teapot, when her mother decided to take over, as her daughter got the cups ready. Ginny then found up some cookies and some jam tarts the elves had left that morning.

With a little help from magic to speed up the brewing process, Ginny was about to take hold of the pot and pour out the tea, when her mother's hand got to it first. "I can do that, dear."

"You're our guests, you're not supposed to..." Ginny saw her mother look up; their eyes met and it triggered something within the younger woman: deep sadness and despair. "Mum...I'm..."

"I've got it. I can make tea blindfolded! No trouble!"

"Mum, I'm so sorry. I'm sorry I haven't...I haven't _become _what you wanted. I...I never wanted to hurt anyone, least of all you, and not Ron either, really. I wish things could be the way they were, but they can't be...I can't...I can't change how I feel about Hermione."

"I can't deny I'm disappointed," said Mrs. Weasley, in an even tone. "I also confess to being a little embarrassed too. I don't completely understand it. I very much hoped this was a phase you were going through. All that stress and danger has to manifest itself in strange ways. But I see you haven't even tried to go back, so that must...,"

"I can't listen to this, Mum!" Ginny said, finding herself already tearful and feeling wretched, all a lot sooner than she thought possible. She thought she had reconnected with her mother over making the tea; all the feelings were there as they used to be, but her mother was still telling her she didn't believe her about truly loving Hermione and was disappointed she hadn't gone back to Harry; her mother hadn't named him, but it seemed obvious what she was going to say. _I thought I could take this, _she thought, _I knew Mum wouldn't be all smiles so soon. I want her to understand, but she's not even giving us a fair chance. She's disappointed and embarrassed? Just bloody wonderful!_

"Ginny, you have to listen. What I'm trying to..."

"I don't want to hear it! We invited you over, hoping to talk with you...but, you don't care...you just think I'm a kid and don't know what I'm doing," Ginny was sobbing. "I can't take this...I..." she opened the hall door and ran through and up the stairs. _I'm being irrational, I know I am, _she thought, _but I can't take this, for some reason. _She ran into the bedroom, locking the door behind her with a swish of her wand, before collapsing on the bed.

Back in the sitting room, Hermione and Mr. Weasley had heard the commotion. When Hermione wanted to get up and see what was happening, Ginny's father had asked her to let them be for a little while. However, now she'd heard someone running up the stairs and a door bang. Not being able to stop herself any longer, Hermione stormed through to the kitchen to see a pale-looking Mrs. Weasley sitting at the kitchen table.

"What did you say to her?" asked Hermione, trying to keep her own anger at bay.

"We were talking, but she wouldn't listen to what I was going to say," said Mrs. Weasley.

"What did you say to her?" asked Mr. Weasley this time, unable to take a tone of disappointment from his voice.

"The truth: that I couldn't deny that I was disappointed and that I'd hoped she would have gone back to how things used to be."

"You what?!" said Hermione, in a firmer voice. "Did you actually use the word 'disappointed'?"

"Yes, but she didn't let me finish. She didn't let me tell her that, although I'd felt that way and a little embarrassed, that her father had begun to make me understand and that I love her, no matter what, even if we don't agree on everything," said Mrs. Weasley with a twitch of her bottom lip.

Hermione put her hand to her head, understanding what had happened. "I'm not sure she could take being here after you said those words."

"Do you want us to leave?" asked Mr. Weasley. "We'd understand."

Thinking fast, Hermione considered the choices she had, in a 'now or never' way, to make Mrs. Weasley's feelings on the subject less lukewarm. "No, stay. Take the teas through. I'm going to check on Ginny, and then I want to talk to you both. I _need_ to talk to you both, make _you _understand some things."

Mr. Weasley once again rested a friendly hand on Hermione's shoulder. "Okay, we'll be in the sitting room."

Hermione walked up the stairs and upon trying to open their bedroom door, found it locked. She flicked her wand at it, but it remained locked. "Ginny? It's me."

A creak of the bed, and some light footsteps, preceded a small crackling sound, before the door opened. Hermione was faced by a very upset-looking Ginny. "Did you use a new spell to lock the door?" asked the brunette.

"It's a triple thing I used to use at home; I must have done it without thinking, sorry."

Wrapping her arms around the redhead, Hermione held her tight. "I heard what happened. I think I need to be more candid with your parents now."

"Candid?" asked Ginny uncertainly.

"Tell them some things a bit more personal," said Hermione, and seeing Ginny look aghast, she added, "No, nothing _that _personal, but I think they need to hear some more details."

"I don't think anything will work on Mum; she's being obstinate."

"Actually, she said, had you stopped and listened to her, she was going to tell you that she loved you no matter what and that your dad had started to make her understand. Although she still didn't say she exactly agreed with it..."

"She said she was disappointed AND embarrassed," said Ginny, with a little sniffle. "I'm sorry Hermione; I can't talk to her right now."

"Actually, I don't want you to," replied Hermione, as something sparked in her mind about the whole situation and a possible way forward.

"You don't?" asked a very confused Ginny.

"I think the things I have to say might be more effective with you still up here, upset," said Hermione. "I don't want to sound calculating and cunning, but I think it will work better that way."

"Do what you have to...if you think it will help."

"You trust me?" asked Hermione.

"Yes, of course."

"I promise that what I tell them is needed, and will not cause either of us more embarrassment than necessary."

"Mum's embarrassed already, so what does it matter?"

"I'll go back down, now," said Hermione, as she put a hand to Ginny's cheek and leaned in to lightly kiss her lips. "I love you."

"I love you too."

"Here goes," said Hermione, as she left the room, closing the door behind her.

Almost having to psyche herself up, like a fighter about to enter a boxing ring, Hermione walked back into the sitting room, determined to get Mrs. Weasley over the flimsy hurdle she was using to block rational thought, as to why it was bad that her daughter was going out with Hermione.

"Is Ginny all right?" asked Mrs. Weasley, beating her husband to it.

"She's not jumping with joy, but she'll be okay," said Hermione, as she sat down. "She needs a little time to herself."

"So, you said you wanted to talk with us?" asked Mr. Weasley.

"Yes," said Hermione. She took a sip of tea, ran a hand through her hair and resigned herself to talk. "You both know little bits and pieces about our time-travel and some of the tasks we had to do, well I'm going to tell you a bit more details."

Hermione told her attentive audience an almost step by step account of the tasks herself and Ginny had had to undertake, and how much they risked; how much they had to plan for themselves and all the small worrying side problems they had to deal with. She told them how Ginny had dreamed of Voldemort killing them one by one; how she dreamed she was visiting Hermione's grave when she had no idea if Hermione was alive or dead in real life as she searched for her; she also told them how Ginny had cared for her, when she got them back to the house from the army base, Side-Along Apparating them at her very first attempt.

For the most part the Weasley parents remained silent as they listened, only breaking their silence with a 'whew' or a 'oh my god' every so often. Hermione told them how amazing Ginny had been with Borgin and how convincing she had been in that role, admitting to learning the bartering from Fred and George.

As Hermione told the tale of their journey, she did touch on how their feelings had changed, and how they'd both run from it and tried to avoid it, but that both their dreams and their circumstances made it impossible to ignore and once they 'd acknowledged it, their feelings felt stronger and right. The brunette could sense a slight tension and awkwardness from Mrs. Weasley over the parts concerning how the girls became closer, but she carried on trying to ignore it. Explaining again how their patronuses had changed and the fact some of Ginny's dreams had seemed to contain a part of the real Harry, adding to the reasons for his acceptance of them, Hermione had almost reached the end of telling their quest in full.

"Believe me, neither of us wants the trouble we've caused, or the inevitable sniggers and talking behind our backs, but it's not some phase or some stress-induced confusing fling," said Hermione sincerely. "I love your daughter. I love your daughter much more than I loved your son. I'm sorry, but that's the truth. It's different to what I felt for Ron, and much deeper. I can't change how I feel. I tried that when the dreams and feelings began, but they were already a part of me. _Ginny_ was already a part of me." She couldn't avoid blushing, and yet she didn't really care if she was. _If I show them the true me, the true words from me, maybe Mrs. Weasley will believe it properly, _she thought.

"You don't need to convince _me_ it's real," said Mr. Weasley. "I saw it when you spoke at the Burrow last time. I really appreciate you telling us everything that happened when you were away, though."

"I don't know how much more honest I can be with you," said Hermione tiredly. "We wanted to be honest with you, so we are. Plus, I think if anyone deserved to know the exact details of our tasks it was the both of you."

Mrs. Weasley finally spoke. "I'm not saying I understand it completely, but I can see how it happened." Sensing Hermione was about to protest, she added, "By 'happened', I mean, I can see why you became so close, and how that changed. You had to rely on each other completely and it sounds like you could only trust each other, because even Dumbledore wasn't completely honest with you at times."

"Yes. It was Ginny and me in at the deep end on every task."

"What upset Ginny so much in the kitchen?" asked Mr. Weasley. "Forgive me, but you haven't told us anything drastically different, just more details and exact specifics."

"Mrs. Weasley used the words 'embarrassed' and 'disappointed'," said Hermione with a little sigh. "I think it triggered a very disturbing memory for her."

"A memory? Did something else happen, that you haven't told us about?" asked Mrs. Weasley.

"I've told you everything in regards to our tasks for Dumbledore and what happened once we got back to Hogwarts. However, I haven't told you about a dream Ginny had the night after Fred's funeral," said Hermione.

"The night after...? She stayed at Bill and Fleur's that night, didn't she?" asked Mr. Weasley.

Hermione nodded. "Yes, and I believe Bill told you that Ginny had had a nightmare?"

"He did," said Mrs. Weasley trying to remember. "He didn't say what about?"

"No, he didn't, because it wasn't his nightmare to tell. I can tell you it was the worst I've ever seen Ginny; much worse than any of the horrid dreams she had when we were away, including when she was physically sick after seeing a dead and rotting Harry. I had trouble waking her, and she was nearly in a state of emotional collapse. Fleur saw her and it worried her greatly too, but we all decided not to tell you what it was about."

"Are you going to tell us now?" asked Mr. Weasley, concerned for his daughter, wishing he had been there to help her in any way he could.

Again Hermione nodded. "Ginny told me that before she left the Burrow with Bill and Fleur, that Ron had said he wished she was 'in that tomb instead of Fred'."

Mrs. Weasley noticeably sucked in a breath, and her husband sensed it and reached for her hand. "Go on," he said to the brunette.

"She knew it was just Ron being angry, but that night she dreamed that she saw all of you at Fred's tomb," said Hermione, as she relayed the dream, covering what people had said or done. "Anyway, George did something and then Fred climbed out of the tomb, alive, to everyone's joy."

"Did something go wrong? Did Fred turn bad?" asked a bleary-eyed Mrs. Weasley.

"No. George told Ron to 'do his bit' or Fred wouldn't be staying for very long. Ron then said something to Ginny and she felt a hit to her head, knocking her out; she went to bed with a headache that night, which didn't help the dream much. Next she woke up, bound with rope, lying in Fred's coffin, looking up the insides of the tomb and all of you put your heads over the edge, looking down at her," Hermione paused to take a sip of tea.

"I can imagine being trapped in a coffin and tomb would be enough to scare anyone," said Mr. Weasley.

"It wasn't that part which upset her the most," said Hermione, finally reaching the hard part. "She realized you weren't joking and meant to kill her to take Fred's place. She pleaded to you both and unfortunately you, Mrs. Weasley, told her in words to the effect, that you had thought about it a lot, but decided she was nothing but trouble and that you were disappointed and embarrassed by her and that Fred had more to live for."

"Bloody hell," said Mr. Weasley in a hushed, shocked whisper.

"It was then that you all started to flick your wands and she felt heaps of earth land on her and over her face, choking her; you were burying her alive. The dream scared her and tore her heart up. I'm amazed how she recovered so soon from it. And even more amazed she found the courage to contemplate telling you about us, as soon as we did," said Hermione. "It's why she couldn't take the arguments and what she felt as rejection from her mother at the Burrow. Today, I think the words you used just triggered it all; I don't think even she realizes the reason yet."

There was silence now, apart from the sound of Hermione taking a last sip of her now tepid tea, deliberately not looking at Mrs. Weasley for fear she might get angry and say something she'd regret. _Keep to the facts, _she thought, _don't get too irritated, if possible._

Finally someone spoke. "She thought we'd kill her? She thought we'd wish her dead; to replace her with Fred?" The speaker was Mrs. Weasley.

Hermione looked at Ginny's mother and saw that she had watery eyes and had wiped a tear away from her cheek, with her husband holding her hand still. "I'm not sure she believed you would kill her, but she feared your reaction to her and I being together and that you might wish it."

"That's absurd! We'd never hurt her like that," said Mrs. Weasley.

"Is it absurd?" Hermione questioned. "She loves you and her brothers so much, even if she doesn't always show it. And like most sons or daughters she wants you to be proud of her and not feel rejected. I never pressured her to be with me, to think or act in a certain way. I let her decide what she thought about everything and she is my equal in every way. I am immensely happy that your daughter loves me as I love her, but I hate to see her hurting because she so badly wants her family the way it always was."

"Nothing's the same. We can't just go back, now," said a sad Mr. Weasley.

"I know it can't be exactly the same, thanks to Voldemort. And she knows that. We both also know that you can't always have your cake and eat it too." Hermione sighed again. "Mrs. Weasley, your daughter isn't a bad person, she's not evil. Ginny didn't become a Death Eater, she never did anything for personal gain. And aside from our tasks for Dumbledore, she hasn't hurt anybody, stolen anything or killed anyone. Yet you treat her like a naughty child who isn't right in her mind?"

"Hmm," was all the answer Mrs. Weasley gave, not knowing if she wanted to cry or be angry, at being lectured to about parenting by Hermione Granger.

"Before you knew that Ginny and I were together and you thought I was with Ron, you were happy, or accepted it, anyway. I always thought you trusted me and liked me, but the moment you knew that Ginny and I loved each other a few of days ago, you treated me like a criminal. Suddenly you were implying that I couldn't be trusted. Ginny and Harry got up to some pretty heavy snogging in their time, but suddenly because she had changed her feelings and was with me, she had to stop her relationship with me?"

"It's not that simple," said Mrs. Weasley. "I'm _trying_ to understand and I love Ginny very much, I just want what's best for her."

"Some parts of all of this _are_ complicated, but the fundamentals are simple," said Hermione, continuing her line of almost rhetorical questions. "You liked and trusted me enough to stay in your house numerous times and share family occasions. You also approved of me liking Ron. You approved of Ginny and Harry getting together and sharing the odd kiss. But because Ginny and I prefer to kiss each other now, we're suddenly both crazy, untrustworthy and for want of a better word, sick?"

"Listen to her, Molly," said Mr. Weasley. "It's like I've been trying to tell you; nothing has really changed, except that Ginny and Hermione want to essentially hold hands with each other, rather than with Ron and Harry. How is their love wrong? Especially after what we've all been through, and what those two went through, saving all our hides in the process!"

Mrs. Weasley sniffled into a tissue. "I just have all these dreams for Ginny. The only girl for generations in the family," she said, stopping to blow her nose. "I want her to have sons and daughters of her own, a proper family. By choosing this path she cuts off so many possibilities."

"Molly, I'd love our daughter to have those things too," said Arthur Weasley. "And yes, this path might well be hard, but if she stayed with Harry and had children, yet still loved Hermione, that's just as stifling and cuts off other options too. And in those circumstances it may not be a happy marriage and then where would we all be? None of us can plan a future, not completely. All we can do is follow our heart and instincts."

Hermione actually laughed, making the other two look at her. "Sorry, but all the while we were back in time various people, including ourselves, kept telling us to trust our instincts. It became something of a little joke for Ginny and me."

"I do trust you Hermione," Mrs. Weasley suddenly said, surprising the other two people in the room. "I know any member of my family is safe with you. I just..."

"What?" interjected her husband. "If you've admitted you trust her, as do I, then I don't see how any other argument is valid. She's not going to hurt Ginny."

"What about Ginny's future, Arthur? What will she do? She can't stay here and do nothing?! And what about the way people will always be making fun and talking?"

"Err...Mrs. Weasley, as Mr. Weasley said, no one can plan the future entirely, but I promise you that Ginny will not miss out on anything she wanted to do had she not been with me. And as you know, I'm all for getting a proper education...as is she, despite the attitude she sometimes portrays. Whatever she wants to do, I will support and help her. I'm not that much older than her, so she'll support me too; we'll try to be there for each other. People will always talk and make fun of others, it can't be helped. However, it would be so much easier if she had her mother to confide in and help her with some things occasionally."

"Molly," said Arthur Weasley. "Is being talked about, because of whom your daughter is going out with, any worse than the taunts we've always had because we're not rich? At least the person she's going out with is Hermione. I wouldn't call that a taunt, I'd be rather proud to admit to it!"

To anyone observing, they would see the resolve of Mrs. Weasley faltering slightly, as she was wracking her brains, finding so many negative problems as to why Ginny being with Hermione was wrong.

"What if she wants to try and join a quidditch team and try to become professional?" asked the older woman.

"Then I'll be sitting in the stands every match, watching her," replied Hermione with no hesitation.

"What if she says she's not finishing school?" tried Mrs. Weasley. "She might decide staying here a better option."

"I'd talk her into finishing her education, in some way, first, and then decide what she wants to do. But I really don't think that will be an issue. However, if she did get stubborn I'd send her to her brother Bill or...or to you," said Hermione. "Although, at the moment I don't know how things stand, literally, with Hogwarts."

"Molly, there is no reason why our daughter cannot see Hermione. Aside from the fact I don't think we _could _stop her, she'd just run away. Would you rather she went out with Draco Malfoy?"

"NO! But...but what about children, I do worry about that?" said Mrs. Weasley.

"Well, we're very young, Mrs. Weasley," replied Hermione, knowing she was going to blush. "It's not something either of us has thought about; no time to think on that much. However, if things do work out and we're together for the long term, which I hope and believe we are, and one of us or both of us would like children...err...there are ways, in the muggle world for such a circumstance," explained a red-cheeked Hermione.

"Molly, what if Ginny had a boyfriend, whom she married and they decided together that neither wanted children?" asked Arthur Weasley.

"Hardly likely, is it?" his wife scoffed.

"Just because _we_ had seven kids, doesn't mean everyone wants them," said Mr. Weasley. "I think some of your problem is your desire to control our daughter's every move, and we can't do that. We have to let them decide for themselves on a lot of things. Bill and Fleur chose each other and I think they'll always be together; I can't see them ever breaking up. And I even remember you encouraging Tonks to keep trying to win over Lupin, and he was a bloody werewolf for Merlin's sake! That didn't bother you or anyone in the Order?! Ginny has chosen Hermione and I'm fine with that. At least we know who it is!"

"All right, all right!" Mrs. Weasley said a bit raggedly, the fight knocked out of her. "I'm not good with change. I'm not good with loss, and we've lost so, so much."

"We lost Fred," said Mr. Weasley, softly. "But if we don't soon put things right with Ginny, we'll lose her too. We got Percy back and when we lost him it was because _he_ chose it; I'll not have us lose Ginny because _we _chose it."

"That's why I didn't want to accept this and to let this happen, for Ginny to become something else and to lose her," said Mrs. Weasley, almost in a whisper.

"Become something else?" questioned Hermione. "Ginny hasn't changed. She's braver and more talented than ever before, but she hasn't changed. Just because she loves me, doesn't mean she's not Ginny anymore; she still needs her mother, too. You'll only lose her if you keep rejecting her and her choices." _I have nothing left to say, _she thought, _my whole argument from every corner is spent._

Mrs. Weasley put her head in her hands, rubbing at her weepy eyes, with her husband placing a tender arm around her. After a few moments the woman sat up straighter; Mr. Weasley and Hermione were expecting the woman to have found another reason why Ginny shouldn't be with Hermione, but instead she said in a quiet voice, "Can I go upstairs and talk with her?"

"If she'll let you in," said Hermione, as her inner self felt a tiny wistful spark of hope.

**A/N: Hopefully this chapter goes a little way to explain Mrs. Weasley's reaction before, and why she feels/felt the way she did/does. When I decided for her to be the 'awkward' parent I thought about why she might realistically take that stance, as she is a very loving and usually tolerant woman. However, she's incredibly protective of her brood and her issues with the situation stem from her desire for her kids to grow up and have 'normal' lives, and therefore in her mind 'easier and smoother' lives. She's always trying to protect them from hurt or from having to face difficult situations, hence it's why she was all anti-Fleur, trying to protect Bill, when those two got together. Anyway, that's the viewpoint I decided to play with, and personally I was happy with it. I'm sure some people still won't like it...but hey ho, can't please all the people all of the time. :) **

**Some of Hermione and Mrs. Weasley's reasonings, in essence, comes from a mixture of experiences of real conversations with awkward parents in that situation; not mine, but friends, over the years. I always like to use and adapt things from real life for my stories, where possible, be it phrases, history or situations, and sometimes fact is stranger than fiction. :)**


	75. Maternal Instincts

**A/N: This is the second half of this mini arc. **

75: Maternal Instincts

Ginny had heard the voices from downstairs occasionally get louder and then dull again, which annoyed her, because she couldn't work out what was being said. _I wish I had one of Fred and George's Extendable Ears, _she thought.

The muffled mumble of voices from downstairs went on for a long while. _What are they talking about for so long? _Ginny thought, feeling on the verge of leaving the bedroom. As she was thinking of standing up and at the least hovering on the landing the mumbling dropped, punctuated by only one or two words. _Are they finished? _she wondered.

The sound of the door, from the sitting room into the hall, opening and closing made Ginny sit up on the bed, alert. _Are Mum and Dad leaving? _she considered. _I hope Hermione gets up here soon and tells me what's been going on. _A knock on the bedroom door prompted Ginny to get off the bed and begin to walk to the door to let in Hermione, but she froze on the spot when she heard...

"Ginny? Can I talk to you?"

_Mum?! _thought Ginny. She sighed, not sure why her mother was at the door. Naturally some negative possibilities raced through her mind. _Shit, she isn't going to make me leave and go back to the Burrow, is she? Or say she doesn't want to see me again until I give up Hermione?_

"Please, Ginny?" her mother said in a calm voice, not at all angry.

_I've cried already, _thought Ginny, _I think I know the worst that can happen, so I might as well talk to her._

"All right, Mum," Ginny called out, before using her wand to remove the locking charm again. "You can come in." _Remember, I've faced Bellatrix, _she thought, _this is just Mum. _Then a negative little thought quickly wormed its way through, _Yes, but Mum killed Bellatrix, so what does that say about Mum? _She shook her head slightly to shake away the thought.

Mrs. Weasley slowly opened the door and peered into the bedroom, before seeing Ginny sitting on the end of the bed; she then walked further into the room. She looked at her daughter and saw the obvious effects of her crying, from the flushed cheeks and sore tired-looking eyes. Briefly she looked around the room, taking in the furniture and how calming and nice it was; she also saw that both bedside cabinets had different items on them, meaning only one thing.

"You _and_ Hermione sleep in here?" Mrs. Weasley asked, before she could stop herself; she hadn't wanted to start off on a bad footing and was annoyed at herself for voicing her observation.

"Yes!" said Ginny, irritably. "We've shared a bed since we first arrived here in 1943...before...before everything else. I suppose you're going to tell me off for that, now?"

Not answering immediately, but taking a deep breath, Ginny's mother sat next to her on the end of the bed. "No. I'm not going to tell you off about it," she said. "I just noticed both your things at the sides of the bed...it...it caught me off guard a little."

A silence ensued; a silence so thick with tension that a person could almost believe they could grab handfuls of it from the air. _This is ridiculous! _thought Ginny, _I thought she wanted to talk with me? _"So, what did you want to say to me?" asked Ginny, having the nerve to break the silence herself. "You _did _say you wanted to talk to me?"

"Ginny...," began Mrs. Weasley, and then she paused.

_I bet nothing has changed, _thought Ginny, not wanting to even look at her mother. _It will still be 'I'm trying to understand but I still think you're ill' type of thing!_

"Ginny, I love you," said her mother. "Even after everything that's happened these past few days, I have never stopped loving you."

Ginny looked up and saw that her mother was close to tears. "I know...I know that, Mum. But why can't you see that I love Hermione, as much, if not more than you love me?"

Another awkward silence was broken by a little sniff from Mrs. Weasley before she spoke again. "As I said downstairs, I'm not good with change. My maternal instincts are hard to ignore too; I'm always seeking the easiest and best solutions for you and your brothers, to try and protect you from unnecessary problems. I have so many dreams for you and wishes and ambitions I want you to achieve."

"And I can't do them with Hermione?"

"Despite what she told us, I'm not sure you can."

"But they're _your _dreams and ambitions for me, not necessarily _mine!_" said Ginny, calmly. "There are things I want to do, things I _hope _to do, but honestly, it would make no difference whether I was dating Harry _or_ Hermione...except, I love Hermione completely, and with her in my life, everything will be better."

"That's what _she_ basically said," replied Mrs. Weasley in a quiet voice.

"We can't both be wrong, can we?!" said Ginny, surprising herself by uttering a little laugh, before she quickly added, "No, don't answer that, because I'm sure you'll still say we _are_ wrong."

"I had no idea...," Mrs. Weasley said. "I had no idea exactly what you both went through; Hermione told us all the details."

"Oh."

"You must have been scared a lot?"

"Not as often as you'd think," said Ginny. "We had each other and that seemed to help us to get through everything. It was bad when she went missing, though; not knowing where she was or even if she was alive. It was also bad facing the teenage Voldemort, but we coped."

"Hermione also told us about that nightmare you had," said Mrs. Weasley, swallowing exaggeratedly to try and keep her emotions in check. "The one after Fred's funeral."

"Oh," said Ginny again, unable to answer with more. _I didn't know Hermione would reveal that, s_he thought, _I can't imagine that went down too well?!_

"Why didn't you tell me? I was there the next day, you should have told me?!" her mother said.

"I didn't want to bother you, with everything you and Dad had to deal with and with Ron being grumpy...and also...," Ginny paused. "Also, if you know the contents of that dream, then you know why I didn't tell you. To tell you then, would have been to tell you about Hermione and me sooner than I wanted to, and I was a little shaken by it all that day."

Mrs. Weasley unexpectedly reached for Ginny's hands with her own. "You can't think we'd ever hurt you like that?"

"Maybe not physically, and almost certainly not burying me alive, but I wasn't all that wrong about how you took the news about Hermione and I being together, was I?"

"Ginny, you're my daughter and I love you, no matter what."

"It hasn't felt like it recently," said Ginny glumly; however, she wished she hadn't said it, because she didn't really want to hurt her mother.

Holding Ginny's hands firmly, Mrs. Weasley took a deep breath. "You surprised me, and yes, you shocked me with your news. You tore a little hole into my dreams for you. I've felt dreadful for Ron and for Harry and...and I'm not good with change."

"So you said before," said a very tired Ginny, too tired in fact to be angry. "Dad's accepted the whole Hermione thing, he's been wonderful; he's accepted it and thought about it from all angles and what really matters is that I'm happy with Hermione and she's happy with me."

"Your father..."

"Don't say he's soft or daydreaming, because he's not, he's..."

"A wonderful husband and father," said Mrs. Weasley, getting to finish the sentiments of her original sentence, by talking over her daughter.

Ginny stopped in mid-sentence, taken aback slightly. "Yes, yes he is."

"He's been trying to make me understand how easily he accepts everything. He's such a romantic and sometimes his heart rules his head," said Mrs. Weasley with half a smile.

"So you _do _think he's wrong?"

"That's not what I'm saying," replied the older woman. "I think in this instance his heart and courage might just be getting through to me; that and the things Hermione said."

"What _are_ you saying?"

"I'm not going to stop you from seeing Hermione. I'm not sure how I could stop it anyway," said Mrs. Weasley with a sigh. "I'm beginning to understand things and maybe..."

"What?" _What's the 'maybe'? _thought Ginny, _no doubt, some silly condition to being free to go out with Hermione._

"Maybe, with your father's help and...and _your _help, I'll understand things better," said Mrs. Weasley, not taking her eyes off her daughter.

"Even if I do, you have to know that whatever hints you make about Harry, it isn't going to change things. Harry knows that too; I've talked to him a lot about it. This is what I want, Mum. I want to be with Hermione," said Ginny, talking calmly but firmly.

Her mother sighed again, resignedly. "Yes, yes, I think I'm getting the message about that. It's going to be hard, especially with Ron."

"I know. I want things to be better between all of us, but it might take some time," said Ginny.

"Yes it will, but I want you to know, I love you and I'm going to make an effort; not hold you back or lock you away, because as your father says, sometimes we have to follow our heart and our instincts."

"Is Hermione allowed to visit the Burrow?"

"Of course she is," said Mrs. Weasley. "Although it might be a bit much for Ron yet, but I haven't banished her; only, have some tact and some dignity when you're around him, and when you're with her around him."

"Don't worry, that's one nest of hornets we won't be giving a stir," said Ginny with a grimace. "Besides, this isn't about flaunting it in front of other people. Us two being together isn't about rubbing Ron or Harry's nose in it. Hermione and I love each other, and that's the fact of it. If we could have avoided hurting or _shocking _anyone, we would have, but life isn't supposed to be easy."

Mrs. Weasley smiled and moved a hand forward, brushing some strands of Ginny's hair back. "You've grown up so much," she said. "I forget that sometimes."

"I'm not seventeen yet, Mum," said Ginny, beginning to relax in her mother's company and feel something like she'd always felt around her. "I...I still need you, Mum. It's been horrible, this past week. I mean, it's been great with Hermione, but knowing that things aren't right between you and me, feels dreadful."

"I know, love," said Mrs. Weasley.

"I don't expect you to ever really approve of my...choice," said Ginny tentatively. "But I really hope you can appreciate that it _is _my choice and that I can't be swayed or turned against it. I love you and Dad so much, I just want us to be okay again, or as near to okay as we can get."

"I'm sorry, Ginny," said Mrs. Weasley, with tears threatening to fall. "I thought I'd lost you at Hogwarts, and then hearing about this, I thought I'd lost you again."

"Hermione saved me at Hogwarts when she made me wear that necklace, and I think she's saved us again by trying to talk to you," said Ginny. "Just because I'm with Hermione doesn't mean I've changed. I'm still me; you haven't lost me."

"Hermione...she's...she's a lovely girl," said Mrs. Weasley. "Brave as they come."

"She hasn't changed either, Mum; she just prefers me to my brother," said Ginny, unable to avoid wearing a little smirk. "She gives me such confidence, makes me feel like I can do anything if I set my mind to it, and she makes me happy."

"That's all I ever wanted for you, and hoped to guide you to," said Mrs. Weasley, her voice breaking. "I just want you to be happy."

Ginny saw her mother struggling to stop the tears, and finding her own eyes blurring from tears as well, she leaned forward, and with no hesitation, wrapped her arms around her mother. "I love you, Mum. Never forget that."

The two women held on to each other, until their tears stopped and Mrs. Weasley moved back to look at her daughter. "If she makes you happy, then...then I can't stand in your way. You know how tough things might get occasionally? You know that some people will make fun or worse? You might have a hard road ahead."

Nodding Ginny replied, "Yes, we're both aware of that. Like most things, I think once people get over the snigger factor they'll soon get bored. And if not, we're two powerful witches with a lot of tricks up our sleeves. Besides, I'd rather be with Hermione, happy and made fun of, than be alone and live a boring life! Everything has a price, so we've learned. Anyway, from what Hermione has told me, muggle Britain at least, is pretty forward thinking about...about the kind of relationship we have, so the magic world can't be too far behind."

"You're talking like someone beyond your years, Ginny," said Mrs. Weasley, once again astounded and very proud of her daughter.

"I suppose we've all had to grow up lately," replied Ginny with a shrug of her shoulders.

"Will you come down and have a cup of tea with us, now?" asked Mrs. Weasley.

"Are you afraid I'm going to get dehydrated?"

"No. I thought it would be nice to have a cuppa all together."

"All right, Mum," said Ginny, smiling. "I need to splash some cold water on my face and freshen up, and then I'll go downstairs with you."

Downstairs, Hermione and Mr. Weasley had tried and failed to make small talk, then tried and failed to overhear what was going on upstairs and then both gave laughs when they realized they were both as obsessed as each other, about wanting to know what was happening upstairs. Mr. Weasley had worked his way through three jam tarts and Hermione had poured him another tea, and he'd moved from the sofa back to an armchair again, having got up a few times to look at things in the room. He had asked about some of the things they had seen in Diagon Alley and elsewhere on their time-travels. After what seemed like a very long time, they heard footsteps on the stairs, making both look at each other questioningly.

_Has it gone badly and Mrs. Weasley's leaving? _thought Hermione.

However, both Hermione and Mr. Weasley were stunned when the sitting room door opened and in walked Mrs. Weasley with Ginny following. Their other half's were sitting expectantly, unsure of what had happened and what this moment might mean.

Ginny sat on the sofa, with her mother sitting next to her; she looked from her father to Hermione and back, before giving a little laugh. "Well, war didn't break out again, in case you were wondering!?"

"Oh," said Hermione.

"Oh, right," said Mr. Weasley.

"We've had a little chat," said Mrs. Weasley. "And we've come to an arrangement."

"Arrangement?" asked Hermione, concerned. _What the hell does that mean? _she thought, _Can I only see Ginny on Mondays and Thursdays or something?!_

"What Mum is trying to say, and making it sound far too dramatic," said Ginny with a roll of her eyes. "Is that, she won't stop you and I from seeing each other. You're not forbidden from going to the Burrow, although we have to be careful of Ron, of course; but most importantly, Mum and I...I think we understand each other better, now."

"Yes dear, we do. There's still a lot I need to get my head around," said Mrs. Weasley. "But I'm not going to cause you trouble. I'll try to be there for you, as I always was."

"I'm pleased," said Hermione, choosing her words carefully, not wanting to say something blunt or stupid and ruin the peace that had been found.

"You too, Hermione," said Mrs. Weasley, before stunning the whole room by adding, "I'm here for you too. I know you don't have any family, but you can always turn to me and Arthur."

"Th...thank you," said Hermione, desperately trying not to frown in confusion and surprise. She looked at Ginny, who gave her an amazingly warm smile. _Things might not be perfect with Mrs. Weasley, _thought Hermione, _but my god, they're much better. I'm so pleased for Ginny._

"Hermione," said Mr. Weasley. "Are you going to look for your parents soon?"

"I hope to," she replied, before telling them about the whole issue and the many problems involved; she mentioned that she'd thought about talking to Bill and Fleur about it.

"I think they might be the best ones to help," said Mr. Weasley. "Both have travelled widely and know their way around international magical laws. Fleur is a first class expert on charms and I'm sure she'll be able to help with the memory charm you used."

"I think they'll be my next step, then," said Hermione, pleased to hear that her ideas for asking for help, were seconded by people such as Mr. and Mrs. Weasley.

"Didn't you get a chance to ask them when you were staying there?" asked Mrs. Weasley.

"I mentioned a little to Fleur, but didn't really ask. It was completely the wrong time to even contemplate starting the process," said Hermione.

"Wrong time? But the Battle was over?" asked Mrs. Weasley.

Hermione sighed, but decided to keep to her rule of honesty. "Yes, the Battle was over, but there's no way I was going to leave Ginny or drag her along with me, until things became more settled...well...with _her_ parents." She had nearly whispered the last part, still wondering if the peace was fragile.

Mrs. Weasley stared at Hermione and had watched as she'd answered, and for the first time, she had truly seen what Arthur had claimed to have seen at the Burrow. Hermione deeply cared for Ginny, to the point where she'd delayed her obvious need to find her own parents, making sure the younger girl was all right first; and she hadn't swayed from that choice for a moment.

"Well, now things are...better," said Mrs. Weasley, choosing her own words carefully. "You can make a start to find them."

"I'm going with her, when she goes to Australia," said Ginny.

Her mother looked on the verge of protesting, when her father came to the rescue. "I wouldn't expect anything less," he said. "Although, we'll have to check everything with Bill and Fleur and that it's both safe and legal for you to go."

Ginny nodded, avoiding saying anything to her mother. _I don't want to push my luck with her, _she thought, _Thank Merlin for my Dad!_

"I want to thank you," said Hermione to Mr. and Mrs. Weasley, thinking of another related subject. "For having Crookshanks at the Burrow. I'll come and collect him soon. I'd like to spend some time with him again...if he doesn't disown me for leaving him."

"No trouble at all," said Mr. Weasley. "Molly and I have enjoyed having him around; I think she'll miss him."

"Such an intelligent animal," said Mrs. Weasley, looking wistful. "He was always a comfort when everything was uncertain; he seemed to know when I was worrying about things."

Hermione saw how Mrs. Weasley spoke about her cat, and it struck her that the woman was _really_ going to miss him, and that when her sons and daughter were away and in danger, she had turned to Crookshanks; or more correctly, Crookshanks had gone to her. The brunette sighed, but didn't have as much difficulty as she imagined with her next decision.

"Would you like to look after him for longer?" asked Hermione. "He's always loved the Burrow and you seem to have got on with him really well."

"I can't take your cat, Hermione," said Mrs. Weasley, surprised by the offer.

"Well, I can visit him when I want to," said Hermione. "He'd still sort of be mine, but he could be settled at the Burrow. He's been moved about so much and I sort of walked out on him; I think I owe it to him to have a quiet life from now on." Hermione looked at Ginny, and saw that her girlfriend's eyes were watery again as she smiled, thoroughly touched by the gesture to her mother.

"Are you sure?" asked Mrs. Weasley.

"If he can't be with me... he'll be with the next best thing; better in fact. Besides, if I have to go to Australia, someone will have to look after him then. You like him and he likes you; if you're willing to have him around I'd love to make you...his guardian," said Hermione with a little laugh, knowing deep down that Crookshanks would have a better life at the Burrow, and as she wasn't banished from there, she could pop by and see him whenever she wanted to. It was a perfect solution for everyone involved. Hugo would be easier to move around because he could fly.

"Thank you," Mrs. Weasley said. "I admit to having become rather fond of him."

"Always plenty of room for everyone at the Burrow," said Mr. Weasley happily, so pleased to see everyone getting on with each other again. "I'd have missed the old cat myself."

After genuinely enjoying a cup of tea, Hermione and Ginny gave her parents a proper tour of the house. When they reached the bathroom Hermione asked Mr. Weasley about installing a shower magically. Naturally the man was very enthusiastic and offered to install one for them soon.

There was much laughter when they opened the wardrobe in the second bedroom, to show Mr. and Mrs. Weasley the WAAF uniforms and the horrible gas masks. On the Weasley parents' insistance, both girls flicked a wand to show them what they looked like in the uniforms. Ginny even went so far as to put on the WAAF hat which she'd complained about incessantly when they'd _had _to wear them.

"You both look really good in uniform," said Mr. Weasley. "And although I don't know much about it, you look like you _should_ be in the uniforms. Very convincing."

"We could have worn them in public yesterday," said Ginny, and upon receiving confused looks from her parents, Hermione and Ginny explained their Saturday.

They spoke about their awkward, but amazing, encounter with Matt in the churchyard and how happy and sad they had felt; happy to see Matt and sad to hear that Joe had died, and that Lottie and Alf were long gone and had lost a son also. The Weasley parents were fascinated by it all and Mr. Weasley said he would have liked to have met Matt; although, his daughter and her girlfriend were glad that was unlikely to happen; they knew how much more awkward that could be; they were both very aware of how Mr. Weasley had been with the Dursleys.

Mrs. Weasley wanted to meet Matt to thank him herself, for looking after the girls and gave Hermione and Ginny another feeling of relief that it was unlikely to happen. When they walked into the third bedroom, Mrs. Weasley was the one to tell her husband that the empty painting held Dumbledore himself.

"Do you want us to call him for you?" asked Ginny.

"No, no. He'll be busy with the rebuilding plans, I expect," said Mr. Weasley. "Another time, perhaps."

"So, they _are _going to rebuild Hogwarts?" asked Hermione. "It's not just Ministry talk to make everyone feel better?"

"The rebuilding began later that day, after the Battle," said Mr. Weasley. "Lots of people are lending a hand."

"Is there any schedule for it to be finished?" asked the brunette.

"It should be ready for the start of term of the new school year, as usual."

"Really?" asked Ginny.

"Yes, really," replied Mrs. Weasley this time. "I hope you'll be there."

"Harry won't be," said Ginny; she was slightly startled to even be thinking about going back to school, hence she tried to deflect the subject a bit.

"No, but he's Harry and he's working at the Ministry; however, you hardly finished your Sixth Year," said her mother.

Ginny sighed. "I haven't given much thought to school. So much has happened and the way things were, it wasn't proper school for weeks and weeks before that."

For the first time, Hermione considered school properly, not just in passing comment. _I'm sure I could get a job at the Ministry without too much trouble, _she thought, _but to be away from Ginny for maybe weeks on end, with only the occasional weekend? I'm not sure I'd like that. _

"I'm not sure what I'll be doing," said Hermione. "I'm going to give it serious thought, because I didn't do _any _of my Seventh Year."

"You think you'll go back to school?" asked Ginny.

"I don't know. It's something I need to think on; it's something we _both _need to think on."

"Yeah. I...," began Ginny, and then she stopped herself, not wanting to sound too committed to any course of action, one way or the other.

"You...?" asked Hermione.

"I'd like to pass that blasted Apparating test when I'm seventeen, if only to stop Bill and Fleur lecturing me about it!" stated Ginny. "Although, I know I could take the test at the Ministry and it doesn't have to be at school. Hmm..."

"Well, we'll both give it serious thought, and soon," said Hermione, hoping it would appease the Weasley parents. She noticed that Mrs. Weasley gave her a little nod of approval and Mr. Weasley smiled at her.

"Would you like to stay for dinner?" asked Hermione, after the house tour had led to another round of tea and tarts.

"Thank you, but we'd better be getting back," said Mrs. Weasley. "We'd love to some time, but Arthur has work tomorrow morning and I have no end of little jobs that need doing."

"The offer will always stand," said Hermione, actually meaning every word and not uttering her offer insincerely, or for show.

Ginny's parents donned their jackets in the hall, as they were about to leave. "Won't you come home tonight?" Mrs. Weasley asked her daughter.

"No, not tonight," said Ginny. "I might tomorrow or the day after."

"I hope so," said Mrs. Weasley as she hugged her. "I promise I won't lock you in your room. I miss you."

"I miss you too, Mum," said Ginny, loving the feel of her mother hugging her again. "I'll be back, I promise."

Mr. Weasley gave Hermione a little hug, and whispered for her ears only. "Thank you, Hermione. Thank you for everything you've done to get us back together."

Hermione whispered back. "It couldn't go on. Those two need each other, anyway." When they pulled back from the hug, Mr. Weasley gave her a beaming smile, before he embraced his daughter.

Hermione was surprised again, when Mrs. Weasley hugged her, and it wasn't forced, it was genuine. "I hope you'll be able to forgive me?" offered the older woman.

"I just wanted you and Ginny to talk again," said Hermione. "I only ever want her to be happy."

"I know that now," said Mrs. Weasley. "I'll get used to it. I'll _make_ myself get used to it!" she said with a little smile.

Thinking for a moment about something else she wanted to show her guests, Hermione opened the front door and saw that the key wasn't in Humphrey's mouth, as she suspected it wouldn't be. She was going to ask Dumbledore about the rules regarding that issue, when she got the chance, as it would be hopeless to ask Humphrey himself. On this occasion she surmised that everyone in the house was meant to be there and no one had entered the garden, so the key didn't need to be in the door knocker's mouth, as there was no need for a ring to knock with.

"There you go, Mr. Weasley," said Hermione. "The key's out of Humphrey's mouth now."

"Oh, this will be interesting," Arthur Weasley said, as he approached the door. "Hello, Humphrey."

"Hello," said Humphrey drily, as he looked over the man before him.

"He's wonderful," said Mr. Weasley.

Everyone laughed and even Mrs. Weasley approached the door knocker now. "That's my husband Arthur, and I'm Molly."

"Not another one!" said Humphrey suddenly.

"Another what?" asked Mr. Weasley.

"Gawd! How many more of you ginger gits are there?!" Humphrey exclaimed.

"Humphrey, be nice!" said Hermione, a little embarrassed.

"Nice? Be nice? What about that red-haired girl you think so much of? She...she's always threatenin' me!"

"Ginny?!" called Mrs. Weasley. "Don't threaten Humphrey."

Ginny snorted with laughter. "I only threatened him once, and it was an empty threat! He was hanging onto the key and we were freezing our arses off on the doorstep."

"Anyway, you can Disapparate from the back garden, but I thought I'd show you Humphrey if I could," said Hermione.

Hermione and Ginny led the Weasley parents through the kitchen and scullery, and out into the back garden, where they safely Disapparated back to the Burrow. The moment they had gone, both Hermione and Ginny slumped their shoulders with relief, before trudging back indoors and sharing an embrace and a kiss.

"I don't know how, or what, you told my Mum," said Ginny. "But I think you got through to her."

"I hope so. I really hope so."

"It's a huge improvement on the last time," said Ginny. "As with everything, I'm sure it will take time. I don't think she'd handle it well to see us kissing all the time or any of that sort of thing, but hey, it's a start...a very good start, and she was even hugging _you_ in the hall?!"

"Yeah, I think she's beginning to absorb it all. At least she's not threatening to lock you away or forbid you to see me, or not allow me at the Burrow. I hated the thought of you leaving home because you felt you _had _to, because you were left no choice."

"When she and I talked, I realized how much I _did_ miss her," admitted Ginny. "I missed that subconscious thing where you know you can always 'go and ask Mum'."

"I'm so glad things are better," said Hermione.

Ginny looked at Hermione. "Sorry. There's me going on about my Mum, when you must be missing yours dreadfully too. We'll find them," she said, hugging her again. "And I'll help in any way I can."

"I know." Hermione paused, just enjoying having her arms around Ginny; she then decided to tell her something that had struck her when they were all together. "When I saw your determination about going to Australia with me, and when you talked about us as we showed your parents around the house, I was taken again by how much I love you."

Ginny pulled back and looked into Hermione's eyes. "I love you, Hermione. As I told Mum, you not only saved me by making me wear that Andrasta necklace, but I think you might have saved my family and brought my Mum and I back together."

"Then I've achieved what I hoped in both cases," said Hermione with a little shy grin, before she leaned in a captured Ginny's lips with her own again.

**A/N: Hopefully that wasn't too sappy. LOL**

**It's interesting what fear does. Mrs Weasley's initial reaction was from fear; fearing the unknown, and only when you really consider the facts and what everything actually means, can you look beyond it and accept a situation. Once that fear is turned into more of a small issue and one that needs adjustment rather than revulsion and rejection, the barrier comes down and the person wonders what on earth they were worried about in the first place. Replacing negative responses with better positive ones.**

**Mrs. Weasley realized that as uncomfortable as she was/is with the idea of Ginny being with Hermione, what was more important was her love for her daughter and her daughter's happiness. If the thing she feared, was the thing that made Ginny happy, how could she fear it any longer? :) **

**Hmm...that concept and methodology of replacing negative responses with positive, works on most things...except spiders! LOL **

**Anyway, I hope that clears up why and how I wrote Mrs. Weasley in the way I did. **


	76. Plans Again

**A/N: As odd as it sounds, these chapters, up until the end, were in my head a long time, and almost from the start. I always knew about the things I wanted to happen after the Battle and beyond. **

**I've also wanted to keep to a narrow time frame rather than spacing it out over months and months, to make it feel tiring and occasionally claustrophobic. **

76: Plans again

Hermione and Ginny enjoyed a quiet dinner and evening together, both feeling incredibly drained and tired after the afternoon's events; there was a large portion of relief felt by both of them and in particular Ginny. They shared a bath together, trying to ease the tension of the day from their necks and shoulders. The bath seemed to relax them and despite their tiring day they ended up making slow gentle love to each other. Sated, but still not able to find sleep, however comfortable they were in each other's arms, they began to talk.

"I didn't realize how much I missed Mum until I thought she was going to continue being anti-us," said Ginny.

"Of course you missed her."

"Thank you, Hermione. Thanks for trying to get my Mum to understand."

Placing a kiss to Ginny's lips, the brunette said, "I couldn't let it go on. As we were talking downstairs, I thought of everything I could to try and prove to your mother that just because you and I were together that you hadn't changed; that she hadn't lost you, and I tried to get her to think about why it wasn't wrong. Although, one of her biggest problems seems to be her obsession with you having kids."

"That's her all over," said Ginny, half laughing. "I think she wants all of us kids to have as many children as her and Dad. Shit, imagine the Christmas presents list if that happened?!"

"Have you thought about it?" asked Hermione. "About having kids?"

"Not a lot. It's not exactly something I consider as my reason for living," answered Ginny. "In one of my dreams Harry asked me if I ever thought about settling down and having kids with him."

"What was your answer?"

"After I put my eyeballs back in and dragged my jaw up from the floor, I said I was too young to even consider it," said Ginny, then she turned her head and looked at Hermione. "How about you?"

"I don't think children have ever been high on my list. My only list usually consists of books I have to read," said Hermione with a little laugh.

"Well, we never know what the future will bring, unless we get hold of another Time-Turner," said Ginny in a cheerful way. "It's something that might hit either one of us. I've heard in the muggle world it's not impossible for a single woman to have a baby without, you know, a man directly involved."

"Yeah, artificial insemination."

Ginny frowned at the phrase. "Well, that's not even in my thoughts right now. I only want to have time with you; time with this new Voldemort-less world; time to just live without being so bloody fearful."

Hermione held onto Ginny and kissed her cheek. "You'll have no complaints from me with that plan."

"What are you going to do about school? When it came up today, it was almost the first time I even thought about it."

"I briefly thought about it when we were at Bill and Fleur's, when we heard about Harry getting that job, but, until today I hadn't thought anymore about it."

"So, do you know yet?" asked Ginny.

"At this very moment in time, despite everything, I think I want to go back to Hogwarts and do my final year properly," said Hermione, before she sighed. "How do you feel about it for yourself?"

"I didn't know what you'd be doing and I know it would be hard if I went to school and you didn't, having to be apart so much; but since Mum and Dad mentioned it today and now you've said you're probably going back...well, I want to finish school properly too; even if you weren't going back, I think that would still be my answer."

"Really?"

"Yes, and for a couple of reasons," answered Ginny. "Firstly, because I want to test myself and not just the Apparating Test, but also to check if all that puffing up you did to me was true or not."

"Believe me, it's true; you're one hell of witch."

"All right, swiftly moving on," said Ginny, not wanting to get into an uncomfortable session of flattery. "And secondly, I want to give myself as many options as possible. I've always had a little ambition about playing quidditch professionally, or at least being noticed by a team scout."

"I'm not surprised by that," said Hermione. "It was one of your mum's other feeble attempts to dissuade me. I said if you wanted to do that, then I'd be in the stands watching every match you played."

Ginny gave a beaming smile to that. "Anyway, if I want to even have the pleasure of a scout being interested in me, whether I take that route or not, then I need to be playing quidditch at Hogwarts in my final year. The team scouts usually inquire about Seventh Year players and come and watch, waiting to snaffle up the newest talent. It's easier to prove yourself in matches at Hogwarts, instead of only trials at the teams."

"Well, I think it's all wonderful," said Hermione. "It will be strange to be in the same year, but nice too."

"You...you do know we won't be able to hide...'_us_'?"

"Of course. I'll expect the worst with teasing and, being who I am anyway, I expect some kind of grief about it all," admitted Hermione. "But I've been slagged off by Malfoy and his ilk since I started Hogwarts. I've been called 'mudblood' to my face more times than I can count. You know, I don't think I could care less now; none of that playground crap matters. And...if...if we have each other, then at least we both have someone who won't be taking the piss."

"I sort of know the kind of thing that might be said or done too," said Ginny. "I think like you do, though; after what we've been through, names, or being shoved in the corridor, doesn't bother me. If it ever got more serious than that, then we both know a few interesting charms and spells to never let it get out of hand."

"Your parents are going to be so pleased you're going back to school," said Hermione.

"Yeah, I expect they will be. The only thing I don't like about it all...is..."

"Is..?"

"We won't be able to share a bed much, will we?" said Ginny, in a quiet voice.

"I suppose not. I'm thinking we might be given some space and on Hogsmeade weekends maybe we can stay here in Godric's Hollow instead."

"Do you think McGonagall would agree to that?"

"I don't know, but it's worth asking. I'm of adult age, which should make things less of an issue; it's not like I can be _kept _at school against my will. I'm sure I can be viewed as a suitable guardian for you too."

"Guardian?" said Ginny. "That makes you sound like you're my mother, or something!?"

"Yeah, it makes me sound like a cradle snatcher," said Hermione with a giggle.

"I think it's the teachers finding out about us, that bothers me more, than the other snotty kids," said Ginny.

"Hmm, I think the teachers might be the most embarrassing part," Hermione said, then she gave a small groan of irritation. "Bugger it; we'll get to that when we get to it."

"Now things are a bit calmer, do you want to talk with Bill and Fleur about your parents soon?"

"It's going to be tiring, but I think the sooner I make a start on the whole thing, the more chance I have of finding them before Christmas," replied Hermione.

"I think first thing tomorrow, send Hugo with a message to my parents about school; then, when he gets back we'll send him to Bill and Fleur and arrange to talk with them. How does that sound?"

"Like a good plan."

"I think we're both good at plans now," said Ginny; then she thought of something else. "You could tell Dumbledore about us going back to school. I'm sure he'd like to hear that news and that would give McGonagall a heads up as well."

"Yes, that would be a good idea. I can ask about the arrangement with the Hogwarts Elves at the same time," replied Hermione yawning, which sent Ginny off into her own yawn.

"It seems we're both sleepy..."

"Hmm, yes. I think I'll close my eyes now."

Ginny moved slightly and placed a soft kiss on Hermione's lips. "Goodnight. I love you."

"I love you, Ginny."

XXXXXXXXXX

Two Weeks Later

"Are you ready, yet?" Ginny called up the stairs at Hermione's house in Godric's Hollow.

"Nearly, won't be a sec," Hermione called back. "Bill and Fleur aren't going anywhere!"

"I know, I know"

Hermione walked downstairs, dressed in black trousers with a check shirt and met a similarly dressed Ginny in the sitting room. "Okay, I'm ready," she said, getting hold of Ginny's hand. "Come on, then."

Nearly two weeks previously, Hermione and Ginny invited Bill and Fleur over for dinner, so that Hermione could ask for their help in regards to finding her parents; they had been helpful from the very moment she had asked. Fleur had apparently wanted to offer her help before, but wanted to wait until Hermione was ready to start her search.

Bill and Fleur had told them that it might take a little while to find the Grangers, and then they'd have to look into the safety of Hermione seeing them and other factors. Now that Fleur was involved with the Intelligence Department of the Ministry, she had access to all kinds of information and resources.

Hermione had expected to wait several weeks, maybe even having to wait until the Christmas holidays before there was any news; so she was amazed to receive a message from Fleur to go over and see them on the Sunday, barely two weeks after she'd asked for their help.

The two weeks had mostly been good; Hermione had set foot back inside the Burrow and even stayed there with Ginny for a couple of nights. Although it was embarrassing, Hermione made sure to let Mrs. Weasley know that they respected her house and nothing would happen under her roof, much as they'd behaved with Bill and Fleur. The Weasley matriarch was incredibly embarrassed by any notion involving the lesbian love life of two women, matched only by the embarrassment felt by her daughter and Hermione, but she accepted that they meant to do the right thing by her.

Ron seemed to spend his time between the Burrow, Grimmauld Place and George's shop. He didn't say anything much when he saw Hermione at the Burrow with Ginny, and was almost pleasant to them. However, he never stopped long in a room they were in, therefore not allowing the time for any arguments or snide comments to start. Once or twice Ron gave them a frown, muttered something under his breath and walked out of the room, to find something to do outside, or up in his bedroom; it was a relief to all under the roof.

Mr. and Mrs. Weasley had been ecstatic to hear that Ginny and Hermione were going back to Hogwarts in September. Their glee had only been matched by the enthusiastic letter the two girls received from McGonagall when she found out, and by Dumbledore when they spoke to him through his portrait. It seemed that Ron was considering going back too, although Harry had said there was a place for him at the Ministry if he wanted to take that option instead. The offer was there for Hermione too, if she changed her mind and wanted to go into work straight away. Hermione suspected that Ron, in the end, would take any option that didn't involve potions homework. It was pleasing to hear that in hardly a month, massive parts of Hogwarts had already been fully restored.

Hermione Side-Along Apparated Ginny to Shell Cottage, feeling a little nervous and wondering exactly what news she was going to hear. She knew Bill and Fleur were probably going to tell her the location of her parents, but part of her feared there would be a complication, like so many other tasks and issues she'd faced in the past couple of months.

Ginny walked in through the door first and found Bill in the kitchen. "Hey there sis!" he said. "Hermione! Come in, come in. Want anything to drink? Tea, butterbeer, juice?"

"Juice would be fine for me," said Hermione, and Ginny nodded the same.

They went through to the sitting room, where Fleur was reading a magazine. "Hello you two," she said.

When they were all seated, with Ginny and Hermione sat side by side on the sofa, each with their chosen beverage, Fleur said, "Now, Hermione, let's make a start, shall we?"

"Have you found my parents, then?" Hermione asked.

"Yes," replied Fleur. "They're living in the Melbourne area of Australia."

"Do we know what they're doing there? Are they still dentists?"

"It seems so, they even have their own premises there," said Bill. "They registered on the muggle dental surgeon register-whatnot-thingy, as soon as they arrived in Australia."

"Oh," said Hermione, sounding down.

"Something wrong?" asked Fleur. "Something you didn't expect?"

"I thought they might travel around, maybe only settle somewhere temporarily and work part-time; but if they've got their own premises and registered themselves, well...it makes things more difficult," said Hermione. "And that's before we even consider I've given them false identities!?"

Ginny reached for Hermione's hand. "At least they've been found," she said softly. "We can only deal with each thing as we go along...like we've always had to lately."

"Is it easy for us to go there?" asked Hermione. "Or will we have to go the muggle route of flying there and getting a visa?"

"We've opened part of a special floo network," said Bill. "And connected it to your house at Godric's Hollow. Not many people know it exists in this format, but you're a special case and you're trusted too. We could have devised a route of staged Apparating to make it easier to take Ginny so she wouldn't get ill, but this way is quicker; it's just a bit more grubby than usual."

"Thank you," said Ginny, rolling her eyes at him. "I could just as easily Disapparate and Apparate myself, you know?!"

"No you couldn't!" said Bill. "Not until you're seventeen and have officially passed that test. Anyway, we have to inform the Australian Ministry that you'll be arriving, so that they don't think your appearance there is an infiltration by rogue escaped Death Eater's. Thankfully the Aussies are good to work with, except on the quidditch pitch."

"British muggles would say the same thing about Aussies on the rugby and cricket pitches!" said Hermione. "Okay, that's solved my 'where and how to find' questions, but do you have anything on reversing the charm I used?"

"I've looked into memory charms in some depth," said Fleur. "From what you told me, it's incredibly unusual to use a variation of the _Obliviate _spell which wasn't designed to make the person or persons forget everything and only forget certain things, which in this case were forgetting they had a daughter and their true names; however, you also gave them the notion of wanting to go to Australia. Do you have any idea how advanced that was? Occasionally the Ministry have to alter the minds of muggles, but even so it isn't as advanced as what you've done."

"Err, no," said Hermione, lightly shaking her head. "I was in a hurry and the idea just came to me."

"Well, there is little evidence of others using that variation. It's almost like a combination of _Obliviate _and Legilimency," said Fleur.

"Hmm...so would it be a case of doing more than trying to lift the _Obliviate _part? Can that even _be _reversed?"

"As advanced as it is, I believe that lifting the charm would be enough, and in the same way you would lift any charm, as it wasn't a complete memory wipe; once they remember what you essentially blocked out, everything else should come back, because you didn't make them forget everything to begin with," Fleur explained. "On initial findings I don't think there will be complications in lifting the charm. If it doesn't seem to work completely then use a little Legilimency to place yourself back into their minds."

"That sounds difficult, _very _difficult," said Hermione, glumly. "Lifting the memory charm is one thing, but fudging around in their minds, planting me back in there? That doesn't sound good to me. And they might be hating my guts at this point, or scared stiff that I've taken them hostage or something?! I'm not sure how I'd even get the chance to do the first bit, let alone anything else if that part doesn't work?"

"This is where the Aussie Ministry said they would help," said Bill with a smile. "The fact you're Hermione Granger and the fact you're friends with THE Harry Potter means they have the perfect plan and are willing to help in any way they can. Voldemort had far-reaching influence and they're just as glad he's gone as we are."

"Oh great, another plan!?" said Ginny sarcastically.

"This one is good, simple and you haven't got to actually plan any of it," said Bill cheerfully.

"So what is this plan, then?" asked Hermione tiredly; although she felt like saying something sarcastic like Ginny had, she stopped herself because Bill and Fleur had already worked miracles for her.

"You report at the Australian Ministry when you arrive, you can stay there too if you need to; their Ministry just happens to be your point of entry into Australia in Melbourne, specially arranged," explained Bill. "They will then work a little of their magic, so to speak, and shut off the area where your parents' dental premises are, claiming it's a chemical leak or some such muggle crisis. You and Ginny pose as muggle special doctors and fake that you have to check them for contamination or something and there you have your chance in the best circumstances we could hope for. Your parents might be scared about the situation they're supposedly in, but they won't feel scared of the actual professionals around them."

"Someone's given a lot of thought to it," said Hermione. "It's simple, but it might just work. At least I'd have access to them, and to even touch their heads if I have to. And I'll be around Ministry officials and not have to worry about covering something up. As long as the real muggle authorities don't get involved?"

"No, the Aussies have an even better relationship with their muggle counterparts than we do. So what do you think?" asked Bill.

"It's better than anything I can come up with," said Hermione, thoughtfully. "My only idea involved posing as a patient, but that would be difficult to perform the things I need to."

"I've read through everything several times," said Fleur. "And I would be happy to personally try it myself."

"Hmm," said Hermione, sounding very down and not as enthusiastic as before.

"What?" asked Ginny.

"What if my parents like Australia? I don't even want to think on them hating me for altering their minds, but what if they really feel settled there, even if they remember everything?"

"That's something we can't plan for," said Fleur, kindly. "Only you can face that part. We wish we could help you more."

"No...no, you've done more than enough for me," answered Hermione. "Thank you so much. When can I go?"

"Anytime you like," said Bill.

_Now I know everything, I don't think I can sit on it for days and weeks, _thought Hermione, _I need to do this soon, or...or I might lose my nerve. I almost need _no _time to think on it._

"How about tonight?" asked Hermione tentatively. "It will be morning in Australia and I expect my parents will be at work on a Monday."

"I _thought_ you might want to get started straight away," said Bill, knowingly. "Which is why I cleared it with Mum and Dad for Ginny to go."

"You _did_?" Ginny asked, her voice going higher with surprise. "And they just said 'yes'?"

"Well, I got an absolute earful from Mum about what I'm not supposed to let you do," laughed Bill. "I think you can guess most of it; basically, behave!"

"Do you know what time you'll leave?" asked Fleur. "Roughly?"

"Let's see," said Hermione. "Melbourne is nine hours ahead of us at the moment, sooo...midnight. That would make our arrival a little after 9am, if the floo journey doesn't take too long."

"We'll let them know," said Fleur.

"Err...how do you do that in time?" asked Ginny. "We'll be there before an owl can reach them."

"Floo network via a special Ministry part of the network, similar to how you'll be travelling later," said Fleur. She wrote on a piece of Ministry-headed parchment, then sealed it into an envelope, addressed it and went to the fire place; picking up what looked like black cinders dust, she threw the black powder into the fire, said 'Australian Ministry, Melbourne' and seemingly tossed the envelope into the smoking fireplace. There was a whooshing noise and a little crackle and the letter was gone and the fireplace went back to normal.

"I've never seen that before?!" said Hermione. _I'm not entirely sure I'll like that particular journey, _she thought, _I wasn't fond of the floo network at the best of times._

"It's a bit too far for owls to fly," said Bill. "So they had to come up with something for long distance messages."

"Telephones would be an even quicker alternative," suggested Hermione, drily.

"True, but most of the wizarding world haven't a clue how to work them," said Bill. "By the way, you need to voice your destination the same as that letter, 'Australian Ministry, Melbourne'."

The four of them talked about the impending trip to Australia, with Ginny wondering about clothes. "It's hot there, isn't it?" she asked.

"Their seasons are the reverse of ours. So we're getting into summer here, so they'll be moving towards winter...although their winters are not as cold as ours. I think nearly what we're wearing now will be fine," said Hermione.

As they sat chatting, they were suddenly disturbed by a crackling noise from the fireplace again, followed by a snapping sound as a letter serenely floated out from the fireplace; Bill caught it and opened it.

"Ah ha," he said, sounding satisfied. "They'll be ready when you get there to put the plan into action. That was a quick reply, considering it must be night time there now. _That's_ dedication."

"Would you two like to stay for lunch?" asked Fleur.

"I'd like to," said Ginny. "But I'm thinking we ought to get back and sort out what to take with us. How do you feel Hermione?"

"Yeah, I'd love to stay, but we need a little time to prepare," Hermione said. "Maybe we can come and have lunch when we get back?"

"Of course," said Fleur. "We'll want to hear your news, whatever happens."

"One of us will voice the destination part, but do you know where their Ministry actually is?" asked Hermione, interested.

"Yes," said Bill, taking a piece of parchment off the coffee table and handing it to the brunette.

Hermione read over the location. "Australian Ministry, Melbourne," she said, and then read lower which gave more details on its exact placement. "Albert Park...Lake? It's under the lake there?"

"Do you know it?" asked Fleur, intrigued.

"My Dad likes motorsports and I remember him saying a couple of years ago, about there being a new Formula One race in that part of Melbourne," said Hermione with a little shake of her head. "So the Ministry must be under it? Under the lake?"

"It is. Most Ministry places around the world tend to be underground and under something normal. I'm not sure there was always a lake above it, but that's where they are," said Bill, as he got another small bag of black powder out of a sideboard drawer and handed it over. "Here's the special floo powder you need. I don't think we've forgotten anything you need to know, so, you're all set."

Hermione stood up, as did Ginny. "We'd best get back and get ready," said the brunette. "Thank you again. I never thought you'd find them so quickly?!"

"It was a pleasure," said Fleur, as she got up and went to hug Hermione. "I hope everything goes well. And if it doesn't...I know it's not the same, but you'll always have us to turn to."

Hermione felt tearful; she was emotional about the fact that things might go wrong with her parents, and emotional over the immense affection she felt for Bill and Fleur. "Thank you," she said, simply, not trusting herself to say more.

Bill hugged Hermione then, and Ginny was hugged thoroughly by both other Weasleys too, and they left Shell Cottage, with Hermione taking them back to Godric's Hollow.

As they arrived in the back garden and walked towards the house, Hermione gave a little sigh. "I never thought we'd be back into 'plan' mode so soon?!"

"I know, I couldn't believe it when Bill told us," said Ginny. "It's true what he said, though; at least we don't have to do the actual planning with this one. We just follow the instructions...well, for most of it."

"We'll still have to do a bag check for packing," said Hermione. "That's something very familiar. I'm sorry I haven't given us much time to think on this. I didn't even ask you if you were okay to go tonight? I'm sorry, Ginny. As soon as they told me about everything, my head sort of went messy."

Ginny reached for her girlfriend's hand. "Hey, I'm fine with it. I said that when you went to Australia, I'd go with you, and I meant it; I also meant _any _time you went too."

"For some reason, I can't wait any longer on this," said Hermione, as they walked into the kitchen. "Now I know where they are, I...I just want to see them."

"Of course you do, and there's no need to feel bad about that. Everything is set in motion and we'll have to see what happens," said Ginny softly. "I suppose we won't know how long we'll be away?"

"No. I'm hoping only a day or two, but there's no way to know, so we'll pack with that in mind."

"I know you must be nervous," said Ginny, as they walked through to the sitting room and flopped down in armchairs. "And it's okay for you to be nervous, and you don't have to hide that from me. I want to help in any way I can."

"Yes, I...I am nervous," admitted Hermione. "Not about the journey really, or the plan; it's the part, if and when my parents remember me and what they'll think of me, that's the nervous part."

"I hope I can help rather than hinder," said Ginny. "I want to be there for you, and I wish I could do more."

"Ginny, you just being there will be a world of help to me; having you by my side means more to me than I can say."

"Let's have some lunch and then start packing our wonderful enchanted bags," said Ginny with a wry grin; she had nearly as many clothes at Hermione's as she did at the Burrow. She had taken to carrying a lot around with her, so she could stay at either house depending on what they were doing. There were several items in her bag which she'd left there from their time-travelling days, out of sentiment as much as anything. Once again, she was very thankful for the incredibly useful enchanted bag Dumbledore had given her.

XXXXXXXXXX

As they sorted out clothes and items to pack, there had been a moment or two of giggles, when Ginny checked their toiletries and found that Hermione still had some of the red bubblebath in her beaded bag, which she'd taken from Dumbledore's house in 1943.

"I'm surprised you have any left?" said Ginny, greatly amused.

After rolling her eyes at her girlfriend, Hermione became a little more serious. "You'll think it's a bit crazy, but I like it with me in my bag, although I don't want to finish the bottle. It's like I want to keep some of it, not as a momento, because that _is_ rather mad-sounding, I...I don't know, it seems wrong to me, to use it all up." She groaned. "Don't tell me, I've gone all superstitious and have developed some kind of obsessive, compulsive disorder?! Go on, say it?!"

Ginny also became more serious and put her arms around Hermione. "You really want to know what I think? I don't think you're crazy or have lost the plot; I think you're wanting to savour a little of the good things we experienced back in time. How we got together, what we faced and so on; and in a very literal way, you're sort of saving those times in that bottle. In a funny sort of way _I'm_ probably in that bottle with that bubblebath too; our fumbling, bumbling and excessive faffing around, before we got together; all those flasks of tea and those bloody awful WAAF hats; it's there in that bottle, and I don't think you're mad at all for wanting to keep it and to retain a little part of that time untouched."

Hermione had been watching Ginny's face as she spoke, and it amazed her that the younger woman had voiced a theory that she herself hadn't thought about; now she'd heard it, she knew it was true. She leaned in and placed the most gentle and tender of kisses to Ginny's lips.

"How is it, you understand me, better than _I_ do?" asked Hermione, with the slightest of smiles.

Shrugging her shoulders, Ginny replied, "I don't know. I _do _know that I love you, and maybe that's the answer to the 'how' part."

"Maybe," considered Hermione.

Several nervous hours later, at a little past midnight, Ginny and Hermione stood in the sitting room in the house at Godric's Hollow, having packed and repacked their enchanted bags to make sure they had everything they needed. They both wore smart, but comfortable, black trousers, with Hermione wearing a dark maroon shirt and Ginny an indigo denim one.

Hermione reached for Ginny's hand. "Ready?"

"Yup, we might as well go."

As with most country cottages, the fireplace wasn't all that big and the two young women had to crouch down a little, to actually enter it. Hermione pulled out the bag of special black floo powder from her pocket and grabbed a handful of it, as Ginny held on tightly to her arm; taking an extra breath to steady herself, Hermione said the destination words, "Australian Ministry, Melbourne."

The journey was more uncomfortable than they remembered an ordinary floo network journey being, and they seemed to be whooshing along at great speed and squished and squashed from all angles; it wasn't unlike their use of the modified Time-Turner. After a few minutes, with both witches wondering when the sensations would ever stop, they felt their feet touch solid ground.

A few seconds later, they both became aware of a humming noise, and opening their eyes Ginny couldn't stop herself from saying, "What?! Why are we _here_?"

Hermione looked out from their floo alcove and understood what Ginny meant and feared something had gone wrong; they were looking out on to the busy floo foyer of the Ministry of Magic in London. "Something must have gone wrong," said Hermione. "Maybe the special network hasn't been set up properly?"

Still holding Hermione's hand, Ginny walked them forward out of the floo arrival point. "Perhaps we should see if Dad or..."

"Hello?!" a voice called. Both girls turned to see a dark-haired man, in a smart navy suit with an almost fluorescent green tie, waving at them as he made his way over to them, nearly breaking into a jog. "Should have been here earlier to meet you. Nevermind, we're all here now." The man's accent was not a London one, nor of any regional British accent or dialect; it was distinctly antipodean.

"Um...you're Australian?" asked Hermione, feeling marginally stupid.

"Yeah, well we _are_ in Oz, aren't we?" the man laughed.

"We _are_?" said Hermione, her mind feeling like a confused jigsaw puzzle, and not being able to put the pieces together fast enough, annoyed her.

"Err, yes. We were expecting you. Where did you think you were?" the man asked, a little confused himself.

"The Ministry in London...but...of course, it wouldn't be packed with people at this time of night," said Hermione, then realizing what was staring her so obviously in the face. "This time of night _there_, I mean."

"I get it!" said the man. "You didn't know their one and our one, are virtually identical."

"No, we didn't know that," said Ginny. "We thought we'd arrived in London."

"Well, I'd better do it right, hadn't I?" said the man. "G'day, I'm Ben Kirkpatrick, welcome to Australia," he said, even doing a little comical bow.

"I'm Hermione Granger, and this is Ginny Weasley," said Hermione.

"Oh, I know who you two are!" said Ben. "I don't think there's a witch or wizard here who doesn't know your names. People were crawling over each other to get this assignment. However, it's my job to see to international visitors when they arrive, so I was at the top of the list. It really is a pleasure to meet you both."

"So, what's next?" asked Hermione, still experiencing nerves, but now she was in Australia, she already wanted to get started and see her parents.

"I've got to take you up to the Minister, for a briefing," said Ben. "Just a mo," he pulled out his wand. "You're both looking a bit err..."

"Grubby?" asked Hermione, who then pulled out her own wand. "We can take care of it." Both she and Ginny quickly removed any grime from their trip, before nodding to Ben for him to lead on.

"So, you really didn't know about our Ministry looking the same as yours?" asked Ben, as they walked in the direction of the Minister's office, which Ginny and Hermione could have found themselves because of the same layout.

"No," said Hermione. "We didn't know anything about the Australian Ministry."

"Hopefully you'll know about us better after this," said Ben. "So, you actually saw the end of old Volders?"

"Yeah, we were there," said Ginny.

"The way I heard it, Harry Potter wouldn't have even been there, if not for you two?"

"Um...sort of...it was a complex set of circumstances," replied Hermione.

"I'd love to hear about it some time," said Ben, as they arrived outside the Minister's office door.

"If we get time," said Hermione politely, not really wanting to talk about everything with a wizard they had only just met.

Ben knocked on the door and opened it. "Here are our British guests, Minister."

"Thanks, Ben," said a middle-aged plump woman, with short brown hair going grey and a friendly smile; she was wearing a grey trouser suit, with a bright red handkerchief in her top pocket, which matched the red silk blouse she wore under her suit jacket. She walked around her desk to shake hands with her two guests, already seeming to know which woman was which, as she then introduced herself. "I'm the Minister for Magic in Australia, Athena Broomhead. It's an honour to meet you two. Please have a seat."

"I'll get everyone ready and be outside, if and when we're needed," said Ben, closing the door on his way out.

"Well, when I heard from Fleur and Bill Weasley, I was most intrigued," said Athena. "We jumped at the chance to be of assistance."

"Thank you," said Hermione. "I wasn't sure how to approach this at all. I couldn't believe how fast my parents were found and a plan having been made for it and everything?!"

"A lot of us would have loved to have helped at Hogwarts, at the Battle," said Athena. "But we would have had trouble entering the UK, as we were basically cut off from you; as were other Ministries around the world. There was very little we could do, unless we became Death Eaters! No bloody fear on that one!"

"You still heard all about what happened, though?" asked Ginny.

"Yes, we received a full report once your new Minister took charge. I must say, Shacklebolt is probably the best thing that's happened to your Ministry in its history; it's already been a pleasure to work with him. So anyway, when we heard we might be able to help Hermione Granger, we had no hesitation. Some of my colleagues like the idea of covert operations; something to get the juices going! I think we probably found your parents so quickly, because they weren't far from here. You've been told what we've planned?" asked the Minister.

"Yes," said Hermione. "The area near to my parents' dental practice will be cordoned off, posing as a chemical leak or something muggle; then I can go in and talk to them as if I'm an official or doctor."

"That's correct," said Athena. "It's very simple, and we're opting for a 'gas leak' instead of chemical, because we don't want too much anxiety or the muggle press being deployed; sometimes simple plans are the best. I didn't think to ask when Ben left the room, but you're happy to do this now?"

"I'm not sure 'happy' is a word I could use, or 'ready' even," said Hermione. "But I want to get this done. I want to see my parents and...and see if I can lift the charm."

"I hope you'll write a paper on the charm you performed, one day," said Athena. "From my brief correspondence with Fleur, it sounds very interesting indeed. Other people in our world would love to read about it."

"I'm not entirely sure how I worked it, to be honest," replied Hermione. "Maybe one day I'll try to work out how I did it."

"We want you to know that whatever happens with your parents, you can come back to the Ministry with them and you'll all be well looked after. We'll try to help in any way we can. Well," said Athena, rising from her chair. "Let's get this underway. You'll be going with her, Miss Weasley?"

Despite talking about the subject a few times, Ginny looked to Hermione to make sure that the brunette wanted her along for the whole operation and to be with her when they faced the Grangers. Hermione's eyes met her own, and with a nervous half smile, she nodded to Ginny.

"Yes, I'll be going with her," replied Ginny.

"Right then, shall we?" said Athena, as she opened the door.

Outside, Ben Kirkpatrick was waiting and it appeared he had changed his bright green tie for a navy one, to match his suit. They all walked back to the foyer, where a group of about fifteen witches and wizards stood; all were dressed in uniforms, ranging from muggle police, to muggle fire service personnel, to a couple in boiler suits posing as engineers. Two were dressed in muggle suits with clipboards. On spotting the Minister with the two British witches, they all stopped chatting with each other and stood ready to hear instructions.

"Have the muggle authorities been informed?" the Minster asked one of the clipboard wizards.

"Yes, Minister," said the wizard. "We've also checked that the targets are in place; they are, so everything is ready and at your command."

_Targets? _thought Hermione, _That's something I didn't think I'd hear my parents called; not in these non-Voldemort circumstances. _She could feel some nervousness in her stomach again, but tried hard to concentrate on everything else and that she had Ginny with her.

The Minister looked to Hermione. "Everything is in place. A few of our operatives will be leaving now," she said, as she turned to the group and nodded. More than half of the group of witches and wizards walked to an area near to the floo hearths and Disapparated. The Minister turned back to Hermione and Ginny. "There'll be in place now. If you'd just put these on," she said, taking two bright yellow jackets from Ben, who was wearing one himself, and handing them to Hermione and Ginny. "It will make you look official. I think posing as a doctor to check your parents' health, after the 'leak', is the best cover story too. You'd best have these...no idea exactly what they do, but it will _look_ like you know what you're doing, or scanning them, or whatever it is muggle doctors do." She handed the two girls a square device, which had a couple of buttons on it and an electronic display.

"Err...they look like electronic scales," said Hermione, as she flicked the 'On' button. The device made a couple of beeping noises and displayed a number with grams next to it. "Going by the size, I think they're for weighing coins or jewellery. I'm sorry, but my parents won't be fooled by these. Why would a medical doctor be waving around a set of precision scales?"

"Scales, you say?" inquired a truly fascinated Athena Broomhead. "Well, well, muggles _do_ have incredible ideas and inventions, sometimes. Perhaps we can find up something else from our muggle artefacts department."

"I'm not sure we really need anything," said Hermione. "I can just ask some realistic type of questions, and maybe bring out a notebook to take notes, or something. It will be less complicated and if they wonder why I haven't got a medical bag with me, I can say we might not need it yet and it's out in the car."

"Oh, okay," said Athena. "After all, you would know best. You'd better use the jackets, though."

Hermione pulled on the jacket she was given that said 'Fast Response Unit' on the back. She had to smile, knowing that it looked convincing and never exactly stated what they were a 'Fast Response' for. Ginny had put on her jacket too.

"All set?" asked the Minister, and observing that everyone was prepared, she nodded to the remaining members of the group. "Ben and Maddy will Side-Along Apparate you to where you need to be."

Ben came forward to Hermione and indicated she should follow him to the Apparating point. The witch called Maddy, dressed as a policewoman, did the same with Ginny. The rest of the group had Disapparated a few seconds before, as the four of them stood and were Disapparated to the same destination.

**A/N: Only for those interested, but the name of the Aussie Minister, 'Broomhead' is a real surname, and a family I knew several years ago. I picked the name Kirkpatrick for the wizard Ben, in a little nod to Aussie actress Maggie Kirkpatrick, well known to fans as the prison officer nicknamed 'The Freak' in 1980s Aussie TV series 'Prisoner Cell Block H'. I confess to that show having got me through some awful insomniac nights in my late teens and twenties, when it was rerun at about 2am every week night on a channel here in the UK. I might have been awake, but at least I was entertained; moving wobbly walls and visible boom microphones and all. :) **


	77. Miracle

**A/N: Here's the next chapter, for those of you not asleep, bored or of the opinion I'm 'losing my grip'. LOL**

**All I can say is that the story went where I wanted it to, and will cover things I wanted it to and it ends where I wanted it to. I'm happy with it, and well aware that I can't please everyone, and nor have I ever attempted to. This chapter and the next one might seem a bit dull, but it won't **_**all**_** be dull to the end of the story...that I promise you. But hey, I'm not forcing anyone to stay on my bus to the end destination; you're free to get off at any stop. :)**

77: Miracle

The place that Hermione and Ginny arrived at wasn't exactly how they imagined; it looked like a normal street, in a normal modern city suburb. _What was I expecting? _thought Hermione, as she became accustomed to her location. _There were hardly going to be wild kangaroos, sheep and wooden huts in suburban Melbourne!_

The street had been closed off, with the Ministry's fake emergency service personnel guarding either end, while the two people dressed as engineers had a 'works' van and were supposedly inspecting a drain cover near to it. Maddy, the witch who had Apparated Ginny, had walked off to one end of the street. Everything looked fairly authentic.

One of the wizards in a smart suit, holding a clipboard walked up to them. "Okey dokey, everyone in the street has got the message about staying inside their buildings, so the Grangers are inside their dental practice, with only one patient this morning, which we've already cleared and moved away from the area. It's all set for you," the wizard said to Hermione.

"All right," agreed Hermione.

"I'll take you to your parents' place," said Ben, as they began to walk towards one of the buildings; Ginny walked along with them.

Ben opened the door and they found another witch dressed as a policewoman; she gave them a smile and went further into the building, leaving them standing in a small reception area. They heard her say, "Mr. and Mrs. Wilkins, just some routine things; the specialist doctors have come to check you have no effects from gas inhalation."

"Gas inhalation? We haven't been outside the building?! And you said the gas leak was further down the street!?" said a raised male voice.

Hermione froze, when she recognized her father's voice. She wanted to run into down the hallway to that room to see him and her mother. It was all she could do to hold back, finding herself reaching for Ginny's hand to ground herself.

"You okay?" whispered Ginny.

"Yeah...it...that was my Dad's voice," replied Hermione.

Ginny gave Hermione's hand a squeeze. "We can do this," she said with a smile.

"This way doctors," said the fake policewoman. "The Wilkins are in their office."

Hermione walked down a short corridor, passing an open door which revealed a standard dentist's chair and the usual dental surgery items. A little further down the corridor was a door with a 'Waiting Room' sign on it, and opposite that door was the office where her parents would be. Her heart was thumping, and her stomach was giving her bad nausea. As she walked into the office, she observed the two desks, the range of filing cabinets, a couple of ordinary chairs and also two comfortable desk chairs occupied by...her mother and father, looking no different to when she had last seen them. Her father was dressed smartly and was clean shaven, as always, and her mother had her hair tied back in a ponytail, as she'd always worn it for work; it was like Hermione had only cast the spell and said goodbye to them yesterday and the sight of such familiarity disrupted the brunette's thoughts.

"Mu...rrgh..." Hermione tried to catch herself before she completed the word 'Mum', but was cut off by her mother anyway.

"Hermione? Why are you working with the emergency services?"

Hermione looked at her parents, wide-eyed and nearly numb. "What?" was all she could utter.

Realization seemed to hit both of her parents, with Mrs. Granger putting her hand to her mouth, as she looked at her daughter and understood what was in front of her; even though she had voiced her daughter's name before, it was only at this point that she believed what she was seeing. She immediately stood up and went to Hermione and hugged her. "It's so good to see you again. We had no way to know where you were, or if you were safe."

"I...I...I don't understand?" asked Hermione, flabbergasted. "You know me? You know who I am? I...I...how? What? I..."

"Well, maybe we can help with that," said her father, who walked over to hug her too. "About three weeks ago we started work one morning and suddenly felt unwell. We cancelled all patients for that day and in a few hours we discovered that we were living under fake names and apparently in Australia. We decided that we'd either gone completely senile, or you'd put a spell on us. We didn't know where you were or how to contact you; we hoped you were all right, but we had no way to know anything."

"We thought that you might be all right, and hoped you were looking for us, because we've had one or two strange patients recently," said Mrs. Granger.

"Strange patients?" asked Hermione, feeling dazed by it all.

"Yes, people with peculiar dental work, and having looked at one or two magical medicine books a few times in that bookshop in Diagon Alley, I knew we were being checked up on by the magical community. We hoped it meant you were looking for us, rather than being looked for on sinister means," said Mr. Granger.

"Sinister means?" Hermione asked, looking from one parent to the next.

"We thought you must have had a very good reason for using that charm, or curse, or whatever it was, on us; making us leave the country and all that," said her mother. "So we didn't dare try and contact anyone in the UK to find you. We hoped you'd come and find us when you were able to. When I saw you just now, I'm not sure my eyes and brain had caught up with each other. For you to be here, is more than we could ask for."

"I'm so sorry," said Hermione, her voice breaking slightly. "I never meant to hurt you or tamper with your memories, but...you were in terrible danger. You remember I mentioned about Voldemort and his followers getting stronger? They were beginning to hunt down the families of witches and wizards like me. They were killing them and because I was friends with Harry Potter, there's no way they would have just killed you; you would have been tortured first. I couldn't let that happen. Please forgive me," she said, tears down her cheeks, the enormity of the situation weighing on her heavily.

Mrs. Granger led Hermione to a chair and then knelt before her, holding her hands. "Sweetheart, we guessed why you did it; that there was a very good reason for it."

"I'm sorry, Mum...sorry, Dad," said Hermione. "I should have asked you about it or...or thought of something else...I..."

"We forgive you. All that matters to us is that you're safe and well," said her mother, kindly. "We're so pleased you've found us as soon as you did. We didn't know whom we could turn to, or to ask for help. Even if we found someone magical, we didn't know if we could trust them, which is why we never questioned those patients we had."

"So much has happened," said Hermione, after blowing her nose into a tissue her mother had handed to her. "I'll tell you all about it and let you know what's happened."

"Are...are your friends, Harry and Ron, okay?" asked Mr. Granger.

"Yes. There's a long story about Harry, but yes, they're both alive and...and we won!" said Hermione, smiling. "Harry defeated Voldemort and it's all over. Well, there's a large clean-up got to happen and tracking down Death Eaters...Voldemort's followers...but the threat is over. Hogwarts has to be virtually rebuilt, but everything should be back to normal."

"So the UK's safe?" asked Mr. Granger. "In Hogwarts terms, I mean? I know there will always be your usual murders, robberies and road accidents."

Hermione nodded. "Yeah, it's safe, or at least _normal _again." She looked over to Ginny, who had kept to one side, giving everyone space. Hermione could see that Ginny had shed a tear or two, as she'd watched the scene before her. "Mum, Dad, I think you've met her before, but this is Ginny Weasley."

Ginny looked slightly surprised, but walked forward and gave a little smile. "Hello," was all she could think to say. She had met the Grangers at King's Cross station a few times, but had never had a proper conversation with them.

"You're Ron's sister?" asked Mrs. Granger.

"Yes," replied Ginny, feeling the tingle of uncertainty. "I...I decided to accompany Hermione here, so she didn't have to face everything alone."

"That's very kind of you," said Mrs. Granger.

"So, do you like Australia?" asked Hermione, dreading the thoughts she'd always had about why anyone would want to leave Australia for England.

"It's lovely," said Mrs. Granger. "But..."

"But?" asked Hermione.

"Once all our memories of you came back, other things did too; such as our love of some of the walks we used to take near to where we lived; our friends and patients; we began to miss everything."

"I bet you didn't miss the weather?" said Hermione with a grin.

"Melbourne isn't quite how you'd imagine Australia," said Mr. Granger. "They have their fair share of rain and wind. It's famous for four seasons in a day type weather. There aren't the frosts and ice, and the summers are warmer, but to be honest I miss a good frost and a good ol' bit of black ice!"

"So...um...are you thinking of going back to England?" Hermione asked hopefully.

"Yes," said her mother. "We didn't know what to do, though, because we've broken immigration laws in so many ways, with these weird fake names you gave us. We thought we'd wait and hope you found us, because in a way we've been trapped."

"I think the Australian Ministry of Magic will be able to help," said Hermione. "They said they'd help in any way they could. They're the ones who worked out this absolute farce of a situation today, to get me close enough to you to lift the spell."

"Ah, well, you don't need to now," said Mrs. Granger. "We thought the whole thing sounded odd. We half wondered if they were running a training reconstruction, or something."

"Should I go and get Ben?" asked Ginny. "He might be able to help on what we do next."

"Thanks, Gin," said Hermione, as her girlfriend left the room. "I'm really sorry," she said again to her parents. "I hope I never ever have to do something like this again."

Mr. Granger had a hand on his daughter's shoulder, and Mrs. Granger still held Hermione's hands. "We understand why you did it, honestly we do. We knew it had to be something very serious. We're not stupid, dear; we knew it had to be a last resort. And we knew it was you; had it been someone on this man Voldemort's side, I don't think they would have changed our names and sent us to Australia, they would have just killed us or worse. You very likely saved our lives."

Hermione was quiet, still feeling so guilty about altering her parents' memories, but truly relieved that they had taken it so well. She was also amazed that the spell had worn off. _Maybe once the danger I was protecting them from had passed, _she thought, _the spell was no longer needed for the reasons I created it. _

"Where have you been living?" Hermione asked.

"There's a nice spacious flat above the practice here," said her dad, pointing upwards with a finger.

"Oh, they never told me where you were living, only that they'd found your work place."

"I'm not sure anyone would assume that dentists would live above their surgery," said Mr. Granger. "As nice as it is, though, I can't wait to get back to a house with a garden."

"I won't miss having encounters with huntsman spiders, either," said Mrs. Granger with a little shiver. "They're basically harmless, but large and..._urgh!"_

A few minutes later, Ginny returned with Ben Kirkpatrick and he went through the things they could do next. It seemed the Australian Ministry were able to deal with everything, even altering their names back correctly on the records. The Ministry were prepared to sell off the premises for the Grangers and take care of every little detail for them; however, they wouldn't be able to travel by the floo network, and would have to get back to England via a muggle aircraft, the normal way, but they weren't too worried about that; it was going to take a day or two to sort everything out. The Grangers asked Hermione and Ginny to stay the rest of the day, and the night, in their flat and spend some time together, to hear about their trials and tribulations against Voldemort.

In the street outside, the safety cordon had been taken away and the wizards and witches had all dispersed back to the Ministry, after a job well done. With the time difference, both Hermione and Ginny were now feeling extremely tired and Hermione's parents wanted to make sure they saw the patients they had booked for the rest of the day, so they offered their spare room to the girls, to get some sleep, until the late afternoon or evening, when they hoped to have dinner together.

Mrs. Granger explained that there was only one double bed and hoped they wouldn't mind sharing, although she was sure they could make the one bed into two with magic. Hermione hoped she wasn't blushing, but explained to her mother that the particular path herself and Ginny had been on, had required them to sleep where they could and often that meant sharing, so they were used to it.

After Mrs. Granger had shown them to the spare room and where everything was, if they wanted a drink or anything, both girls had a quick freshen up in the bathroom before going back to the bedroom. They decided to put a small locking charm on the door, just in case Hermione's parents looked in on them and in their sleep Hermione and Ginny had got a bit too close with each other. If the door was tried, they hoped her parents would think that locking the door was a habit, from living around danger as long as they had.

With very little fuss, the girls changed into some nightwear and got into bed. Immediately, Hermione leaned over Ginny and kissed her. "Thank you for being here with me."

"I'm glad I'm here, and I'm so glad about how your parents reacted over the memory charm."

"That was a surprise. I still feel bad about it; although, they seem to understand."

"They _do_ understand," said Ginny. "Believe me, they do. They know why you did it, and I think I could see that they were thankful you did it. They were also very thankful that you're alive and well. I think a part of them thought that when the spell lifted, it meant you had died."

"I hadn't really considered that," said Hermione. "I think the spell probably ended, because the threat I was trying to protect them from, had gone."

"Don't mention that near that Athena Brushhead woman," said Ginny with a grin.

"Broomhead!" laughed Hermione. "And yes, I won't be saying much to her about it, she'd probably want me to give a seminar on it."

"I suppose once the Ministry here has everything in order and a plan of action ready, we'll be going back and your parents will follow on a muggle plane soon?"

"Yeah, I think that's what will happen; going by how fast everything has been worked out, a plan for them might be ready by tomorrow and we'll go back home then," said Hermione. "I know this sounds selfish, but I'm so glad they want to go back to England. Australia is somewhere I've always wanted to visit, but I'm not sure I'd like my parents living that far away. Even with magical forms of travel, I like the idea of them being on the same continent, at least."

"I know what you mean," said Ginny. "Soo, when are you thinking of telling them about...us?"

"I thought tonight," said Hermione with a slight frown.

"So soon?"

"Well, I don't want to hide anything from them. I'm going to tell them all about our tasks and the Battle, and the fact we got together is completely relevant to that."

"You must be afraid they'll react badly, just as you've found them?" asked a concerned Ginny.

"Oh yes, there's a little fear going on here; however, if the worst happens, we always have the Ministry as a place to stay the night; we know enough about the location for me to Apparate us there. My parents want to go back to the UK, so even if the worst _did_ happen, I'd be able to find them again and work on them. I just need to put everything forward, now."

"I'll be here for you, in whatever way you need," said Ginny, placing a kiss on Hermione's lips.

"You can help with the tale of our journey, and then I might have to squeeze your hand to death for support, when I tell them about us."

Ginny gave a small chuckle. "Squeeze all you want," she said. "It might be helpful to mention how my parents took the news, and how even Mum has tried to understand it."

"I can't plan too much on what to say, because we don't know their reactions yet; but yes, I'll use any available analogies and examples I have, to help when needed," said Hermione, finishing with a yawn. "I think I'm going to have to sleep now."

"Sleep well. I love you," said Ginny, placing another gentle kiss on her girlfriend's lips.

"I love you, Ginny," said Hermione in a drowsy voice.

XXXXXXXXXX

Hermione and Ginny woke up around five hours later, with the time approaching 4.30pm, Melbourne time. They got freshened up and dressed, before wandering into the kitchen of the flat to get some toast and a drink. Sitting down in the living room area, Hermione switched on the television, something she was used to doing and Ginny wasn't accustomed to. They watched a local news programme, and Hermione was relieved that no gas leaks had been reported on the station. Shortly before 6pm, Mr. and Mrs. Granger walked in, having finished their list of patients and the accompanying paperwork.

"Have you been up long?" asked Mrs. Granger.

"About an hour and a half," replied Hermione. "We had a look at the TV, but thankfully there was nothing on the news about the incident this morning."

"It didn't last long enough," said her father. "You get occasional things like that happen all the time; unless someone gets hurt or killed it's not news."

Hermione's dad said he was going to cook dinner, a quick tomato pasta, as her mum prepared the table. In a short time, they were seated together, eating dinner.

"So, what happened to you after you put the spell on us?" Mrs. Granger asked her daughter.

"The start of a very long, hard, scary and sometimes painful journey," said Hermione. "To begin with I was with Harry and Ron."

"At Hogwarts?" asked Mr. Granger.

"No, we didn't go back to school at all. It would have been too dangerous for us, especially for Harry. We travelled around, having to change location regularly, constantly trying to evade capture, while all the time looking for something called horcruxes," said Hermione, as she told her parents the basics of horcruxes and the problems they encountered.

Mrs. Granger put her hand to her mouth in shock, when Hermione told them about being captured, and although Hermione tried to keep the details to a minimum, it was hard to completely gloss over the fact that Bellatrix had tortured her. By the time she'd explained their escape, and her necessity to impersonate Bellatrix, followed by going back to Hogwarts and losing Harry, her mother was decidedly teary.

"How?" said Mrs. Granger. "How did you keep going?"

"I...I don't know," replied Hermione. "I didn't have a choice in some ways. I'd have had no place in Voldemort's world, so I either gave up or kept fighting. It was an easy choice because I didn't really _have_ a choice."

"You told us earlier that Harry's alive?" questioned Mr. Granger. "But you just said he died?"

"This is where things go from stressful and weird, to completely unbelievable and amazing," said Hermione, as she turned and gave Ginny a little smile.

Mrs. Granger brought them all drinks and they retired to comfortable chairs and the sofa for the next part of Hermione's tale. She began by briefly reminding them about her use of the Time-Turner in her Third Year at Hogwarts, and that it was her experience with the instrument which had probably made her the first choice for McGonagall and Flitwick.

With only the occasional question and reaction, the Grangers sat and listened as Hermione told them all about going back to World War Two Britain, Ginny helping with the details and the things they saw. Hermione's near fatal injury made both of her parents go very pale, so she quickly tried to move over that part and concentrated on the very helpful and handsome American soldiers instead. For yet another time, Hermione's parents were astounded and astonished by what their daughter and her friend had been through, and the things expected of them.

"It wasn't fair to expect that of you both," said Mr. Granger, after Hermione had reached the part where they'd found out about bringing Harry back. "To essentially rest the world on your shoulders; it was wrong on so many levels."

"For most of our time back there...," said Ginny. "...we didn't know why we were doing what we were. We worked out it had to be something big, but we didn't know what. It seems the first two Dumbledores we met, didn't really know either."

"We frequently spoke about not knowing what we were doing, or the reasons for it," said Hermione. "But we trusted Dumbledore, and we were right to trust him in the end, and we've often thought since, that had we known what was at stake from the start, we'd have felt too much pressure."

"You must have been stunned when you found out?" said Mrs. Granger. "Knowing what you had to do, how did you...how did you just get on with it, like that?"

"It wasn't easy," said Hermione.

"No, it was pretty horrific, in a lot of ways," said Ginny. "We'd been through so much already and that actually made it slightly easier; we _had_ to see it through. After everything, it made no sense to stop and not finish what had been started. If we hadn't done what we did, I'm not sure we'd be here today."

Hermione worked to the end of the saga; Harry's battle with Voldemort; defeating the last of the Death Eaters and finally reaching the point of absolute victory. The brunette began to feel a little ache of nerves in her stomach, because she knew she wasn't far off from telling her parents about her relationship with Ginny. She knew she'd probably be putting her parents through an enormous flip-flop of emotions in the very near future; from obvious pride over their daughter's actions in the War, to possibly something opposite in the extreme, about her choice of partner.

"Where have you been living?" Hermione's mother asked her. "We seem to have sold the house, so I assume you must have been staying at the Weasley's?"

"To begin with I stayed at Shell Cottage, Ginny's older brother Bill's house," said Hermione. "Then, things got a bit weird and...well...I have my own house now."

"You have a house?" asked Mr. Granger, incredulously.

"Yeah," said Hermione, as she told her parents about Dumbledore giving his house to her. "It might be handy when you get back to England; until you get sorted out, you could live there."

"It sounds lovely," replied her mother.

"There's something I don't quite understand," said Mr. Granger. "You said things went a bit 'weird'? What was weird? What made you go back to Godric's Hollow, to the house that day, anyway?"

_And here it is, _thought Hermione, _shit! _She noticed Ginny tense very slightly; not noticeable to anyone else, but her lover sensed it. Hermione began with the simple route of telling her parents about Ron not getting on with herself and Ginny and that the arguments were bad, making it better for Hermione to stay at Bill and Fleur's. It was almost like she was trying to skirt around the issue and hide it, as she mentioned that they'd had arguments with Ginny's mother too, and it was only when Ron made her leave Shell Cottage, that she ended up at Godric's Hollow.

"I don't mean to pry," said Hermione's mother, in a soft voice. "But, what were the arguments about? What was going on for Ron and Mrs. Weasley to argue with you and Ginny?"

Hermione inhaled a very deep breath, and as she exhaled, her breath came out in a sigh. "There's something I want to tell you both," she said, in preparation for the difficult part. "I don't expect you to approve, or like it, or anything. You might want us to leave your home, or not speak to me or...or something."

"Love, what is it?" asked her father. "We told you we forgive you about the spell you cast; by all accounts you probably saved our lives; beside the point, why would that upset Ron and Mrs. Weasley so much?"

"It's not the spell," said Hermione. "Something happened...to us," she said, indicating Ginny. "While we were away, something happened...we didn't look for it; we fought it for a time. It's not a phase, or an illness...it's real."

"What is? Was there some other task you were set?" asked her mother. "Did you get injured again? Or Ginny?"

"I...I...," Hermione struggled to form a sentence. _I was so confident when we told Bill and Fleur...okay, not confident, but I felt stronger, and the same at the Burrow, but facing Mum and Dad, I can't... _"We...we..."

Ginny reached for Hermione's hand and held it firmly in her own. "Mr. and Mrs. Granger, the thing is, we're together, I'm...her girlfriend."

Mrs. Granger blinked and looked from Ginny to her daughter and back again. Mr. Granger had done the same and then kept his eyes on his daughter.

"I'm sorry. I'm sure that's not what you wanted to have to face," said Hermione. "I know it's not easy to understand or...or accept."

"Are you saying what I think you're saying?" asked her mother. "You and Ginny are going out with each other? That kind of girlfriend?"

Hermione swallowed nervously. "Yes. Whatever you think...it's real, not some...some fling. And...and however you react, I wanted to tell you, to be honest with you and not hide anything. I think after what I did to you, you deserve the truth on everything else."

"Are you saying you're gay, Hermione?" asked her father.

Ginny gave Hermione's hand another squeeze of support. "Err, no," said the brunette, then she thought on it. "At least, I don't really think of myself as gay. I haven't...well...fancied other girls; it's only been Ginny. If that defines being gay, then I suppose I am."

"When did you discover this...this situation?" asked Mrs. Granger, carefully.

Looking at her mum and dad, Hermione couldn't gauge what they were thinking, or how they were taking the news, so she thought she'd answer their questions truthfully and see where it went.

"Um, it crept up on both of us," explained Hermione. "We only had each other to rely on through all those tasks; the closeness between us grew and grew and...things just happened. As I mentioned before, we both tried to run from it and didn't know what to think, but our feelings were too strong to deny; it became very clear that it wasn't just the situation we were in, or anything external, causing our feelings; we have a deep bond between us and...and it wasn't long before I realized I was in love with Ginny."

"And I felt the same for Hermione," said Ginny. "For some reason, part of me feels I ought to apologize to you both, but...but I'm _not_ sorry for loving your daughter."

"I'm sure you didn't want this," said Hermione. "After everything I've done, I shouldn't be putting you through more. I don't want to make things more difficult for you, but I wanted you to know." _I wish they would say something, _she thought, _rather than keep asking more questions._

Mrs. Granger looked to her husband, who tilted his head to one side and seemed to shrug his shoulders slightly, before his wife spoke. "Make things more difficult for us?"

"I was thinking, disgust, confusion, anger, followed by disappointment and embarrassment if you ever have to mention it to friends," said Hermione. "It's okay if you feel those things; I don't expect you to like this news."

"My Mum didn't like it one bit," said Ginny, as she nervously tried to tell the Grangers about her mother and how it had taken a lot of talking and tears to sort things out between them, and that her mother was going to have a hard time accepting it for a while, before she totally reconciled herself to the concept.

There was an uncomfortable silence, and it made Hermione feel nauseous again. _Why won't they say what they're feeling? _she thought, _at least shout at me...or something! _"Would you like us to leave?" she asked. "I can tell we've shocked you and you'll probably need some time for it to sink in. We can stay at the Ministry." Hermione made to move and stand up.

"Did you ever wonder why you were an only child?" asked Mrs. Granger, which halted Hermione's movements. "We wanted children, always did, despite what some people must have thought about me being a career woman. I had four miscarriages, and then a few years of not even that. It seemed we just weren't going to be lucky. Although doctors we saw said there was nothing wrong with either of us, we began to consider adoption; IVF in those days wasn't very good and was very expensive."

"I didn't know that," said Hermione. "I mean, I know you mentioned you'd had a couple of miscarriages, but I didn't know it was that many, and I thought you didn't have more kids due to work or other things. I didn't know you had that much trouble even having me.

"You wouldn't," said her father. "It's never really come into conversation before, has it? Not in detail."

"Anyway, when I fell pregnant with you, I was overjoyed, but so scared; so frightened I'd lose you too," said Mrs. Granger. "We didn't tell anyone, thinking we'd be unlucky again; and then, I got past the most dangerous weeks with only a couple of scares and you were still there, using my innards as a punch bag."

"Err, sorry," said Hermione, not knowing why she was apologizing for her actions as a foetus. _Where is this leading? _she thought uncertainly.

"When it was time, you were two weeks early, but although you decided you wanted to arrive...," continued her mum. "...the labour was difficult. I suppose because it was my first full-term baby and I'd had problems before. There was a time when you became distressed and everyone was worried, but we safely delivered you. In those days the only thing beyond a beating heart and a pink face that people cared about, was having ten fingers and ten toes; but your father and I talked a lot as we held you in those first few hours."

Mr. Granger smiled at his wife. "It hardly seems possible it was all those years ago," he said, wistfully.

"I didn't have any extra toes you haven't told me about, did I?" asked Hermione. _How is it I'm able to find strange humour at a time like this? _she thought. _Must be from spending too much time around Weasleys!_

"No," said her mother with a laugh. "Leading up to the birth, when there had been a moment I thought I'd miscarry again, people had spoken with very little tact about how children that were nearly miscarried had 'issues'; were less intelligent or had development problems. All mostly nonsense, but as we held you we said to each other, 'it doesn't matter what you can or can't do, whether you're the brightest kid or the slowest; we love you and we always, always want you to be happy in whatever you do.' We would have liked more children, but we didn't get blessed again, which made you even more of a little miracle to us."

"Oh," said Hermione. _So what the hell does that mean? I don't see how that relates to me being with Ginny...not really._

"We got very lucky," said her dad. "You were a bright spark from the day you were born. Always ahead of everyone else; always asking questions. But..."

"I knew there would be a 'but'," said Hermione, feeling down. "_But,_ you never thought your daughter would end up with another woman?"

"No we didn't consider that," said Mrs. Granger. "_BUT_, we still want you to be happy, in whatever you do."

"Um...what are you saying? That you accept me...and Ginny?" asked a very unsure Hermione.

"Yes," said her dad with a smile. "We know you Hermione; we know how you consider things, and weigh up situations. You don't do things on whims; not something important like this. Of course a heterosexual life would possibly have less potential problems in some areas and I'm sure you know that, but that's not who you are. We can't force you to be what some people would call 'normal'; you've never been normal, Hermione."

"Err...thanks, I think," his daughter replied.

Mrs. Granger gave a little chuckle. "By that, your father means, your intelligence; your ability to always work out complicated decisions. You never followed the crowd and never hid your intelligence, like some girls would. You've always done what is right; I don't see any difference with this situation."

"So, you're okay with me and Ginny?" asked Hermione, desperate for definite assurance.

"Yes," said Mr. Granger. "If you're happy and you're happy together, then we're happy for you too. Ginny," he said to the redhead. "You're welcome in our home any time."

"Thank you," said Ginny, feeling very emotional. _I think I'm beginning to understand what makes Hermione the way she is, _she thought, _why she's so intelligent, why she's comfortable facing anything that's thrown at her...it's her wonderful parents. They've loved her and let her find her talents and use them, trusted her intelligence, and until the spell she cast over them, she's never done anything to earn their displeasure...and they even understand why she had to do _that!_ She's not spoilt either, just incredibly grounded by very loving parents._ "I wish...I wish my Mum could have taken the news so calmly."

"You can't be too hard on her," said Mrs. Granger. "She lost a son. I don't know how she coped with all that danger aimed at her family. It probably felt like her world was falling apart and she was having to consider things that she'd never thought of. I don't know Mrs. Weasley, but I imagine you deeply surprised her and told her something she'd never prepared for, which made everything harder to accept."

"I think you're right," said Ginny; in that moment, she understood a little more about her mother's reaction. "Dad was really good, right from the start, and he's been good helping her."

"When we get back to England, we'd like to get to know your parents better, Ginny," said Mr. Granger.

Ginny knew she'd given a horrified expression, and Hermione had to laugh. "She's not looking like that because she doesn't want you to meet them," said Hermione to her parents. "It's just her dad is obsessed with muggle gadgets and things; she's worried he'll start asking bizarre questions and give you the impression her family is barmy!"

"They _are _barmy!" said Ginny.

"Everyone thinks that about their own," said Hermione's mother, amused. "We'd still like to get to know them better, now that everything seems less dangerous for us muggles with magical children. I'm sure my husband here will start asking bizarre questions about magical things too! I seem to remember they had a brief conversation about toilet brushes in Diagon Alley a few years ago. Anyway, if you two are seeing each other, it's only right that the parents become friendly."

"Th...thanks Mum, Dad," said Hermione to her parents. "I so badly wanted to find you again and see you, and I wanted to tell you about us; I had no idea how you would take it. I would have understood had you shouted at us, or...or..."

Mrs. Granger got up from her chair and went over to Hermione; the brunette rose to her feet and the two women embraced. "We love you, Hermione. We just want you to be happy. Happy and healthy; that's all we ever wanted for you."

Hermione was crying a little now as she pulled back from her mum; her dad came over and hugged her too. It felt so good to be in her parents' arms again; that they were alive, and well, and they didn't hate her for either the memory spell or her relationship with Ginny; she felt truly blessed herself. When she pulled back from her father's hug, he gave her a tissue to wipe her eyes. It was getting quite late into the evening and despite the adjustment to hours and their earlier sleep, Hermione and Ginny felt very tired, as did Hermione's parents.

They all got glasses of water to take to bed and as they walked off to their rooms, Ginny slightly ahead, Hermione hung back to talk to her mother. "Mum, I want you to know that...err...nothing will go on under your roof, if you get my meaning. Wherever we've stayed since we got back, we've respected people's homes, with that kind of thing." She was blushing profusely.

"You didn't need to say anything," said her mother in a quiet voice. "We trust you." Then she smiled broadly. "I hope you feel you can at least give her a goodnight kiss, though?"

"What?!" said a surprised Hermione.

"She thinks the world of you," replied her mum. "Once you told us, it was obvious; although, I saw something when you introduced her in our office this morning. You're very lucky to have each other; I think she's a lovely girl. I hope we'll get to know each other better. Goodnight, love; sleep well." With a last hug and a smile, Mrs. Granger walked to her bedroom, leaving Hermione to walk to the spare room.

_Is this some kind of weird dream? _thought Hermione, _my parents can't be real?! Oh, but how bloody glad I am for them. I've found them, got them back and they don't hate me for anything. I finally feel I can rest...and breathe easy._


	78. Timetable

**A/N: I only just got this chapter checked and ready for today. I have some family visiting from overseas for a couple of weeks, so there might be a delay for next week's update. All depends on the time I have etc.**

**This might not be the most exciting chapter and one of those linking ones, but I had fun with it, and after writing it I decided that I wouldn't mind having insomnia around Ginny. ;) **

78: Timetable

Hermione had got into bed, leaned over and immediately kissed Ginny. "That was my Mum's idea," she laughed.

"What?!" asked a surprised Ginny.

"She said she hoped I'd give you a goodnight kiss."

"Ohhh."

"I know, it's absolutely crazy, isn't it?" said Hermione, as she settled back. "They've been so...so..."

"Rational?" offered Ginny.

"Yeah. I always thought my parents were secret hippies, and open to all kinds of ideas; they hardly blinked when they found out about my eligibility to attend Hogwarts; they were excited for me," said Hermione, unable to stop smiling. "But to accept what I did to them with that memory charm _and_ accept that I love a woman? I never thought it was going to be that easy?!"

"I'm so pleased for you that it is," said Ginny. "I'm speaking from personal experience here; it's not nice to feel ostracized from a parent, particularly your mother."

Hermione stroked Ginny's cheek and then pressed a little kiss to her lips. "Your mum is coming around to the idea; she's going to try and she means it. At least she's not shouting at you or stopping you from going, or doing, what you want to, now. You never know, my parents might be so insistent to get friendly with yours, that your mum will get used to it a lot sooner."

"My Dad will love your parents, I know that for sure. I think it would be impossible not to love your mum, even if my mother tries to be at her snootiest."

"Well, that's all for another day. I'm not sure what tomorrow holds yet, but for once everything feels a little more stable; do you know what I mean?"

"I think so," replied Ginny.

"Even forgetting the Battle and what we did before it, it's felt like one thing after another with no pause. We've been out of the frying pan into the fire, and then out of the fire into another bigger fire. It was wearing me down," said Hermione, then giving a yawn. "I know things aren't brilliant between us and Ron; it's early days, but it doesn't feel like we're fighting anything now. With the hurdle of my parents sorted out, beyond the formalities of getting back to England, everything feels steady now, like I can breathe easier."

"I know exactly what you mean. This trip was like the end of a very long never ending set of exams," said Ginny. "I finally feel like we don't have to be on edge, or have to try and conceal something, or wonder about which person knows what. It's only now that I can feel how tired we've both been."

"Hmm, I'd settle for a few weeks of boredom now," said a sleepy Hermione.

"Can we be bored together?" asked an equally sleepy Ginny.

"Absolutely," said Hermione, as she kissed Ginny very gently. "I think...we should both sleep...now. Night Ginny."

"Night Hermyhoney!"

Hermione snorted a little laugh in reply as they cuddled up together and found sleep.

XXXXXXXXXX

Next day they were visited by Ben Kirkpatrick from the Australian Ministry; he stopped by during the Grangers' lunch hour. Hermione had been indulging Ginny in the art of watching television that morning, while doing absolutely nothing else. Everything had nearly been sorted out for the Grangers and, surprising all of them, the Australian Ministry had gone above and beyond the call of duty in every area.

"So, these premises have already been sold?" asked an incredulous Mr. Granger.

"Yes, that's correct," replied Ben. "You haven't changed your mind, have you? We can soon sort things out if you have."

"No, no that's fine. I was surprised by the speed of things, that's all."

"I assume no one is moving in this afternoon?" asked an only slightly concerned Mrs. Granger.

"No worries there," said the Aussie wizard. "No one can move in until you've left. Now, we've sorted out your muggle passports and papers; that was an easy job."

"Did you just wave your wand over them, then?" asked Hermione, thinking of how she and Ginny had changed their WAAF details.

"No, we went through official channels," said Ben, wearing an expression that said they'd never dream of doing things so shoddy. "We gave the authorities a line about your parents being in a kind of witness protection scheme, but the threat in the UK is gone, so they can safely return and use their real names again,"

"Clever," said Hermione, nodding.

"We thought so," said Ben, before turning to Mr. and Mrs. Granger. "So, we have a flight booked to get you back to London for Tuesday UK time. Is that okay?"

"That _is_ fast!" said Mrs. Granger. "What about our patients?"

"You'll need to cancel," said Ben. "Perhaps everyone from tomorrow, so we can come and go to help with your move."

Mrs. Granger looked like she was going to protest, but her husband held her hand. "We can cancel, it's not a problem. It's not like we're the only dentists in this part of Melbourne."

"All righty then. We've got your plane tickets here with your passports," said Ben, as he handed the Grangers the items, which he produced from the briefcase he had with him.

"I'd better know what time they should be arriving," said Hermione. "So I can meet them and take them to my house."

"No need," said Ben. "We have a car booked with your Ministry, for when they arrive, to take them to their home."

"Home?" asked Mr. Granger. "Do you mean Hermione's home?"

"No, your home."

"Are you saying you've bought them a house?" asked Hermione.

"Yes, we were able to buy back your old house," said Ben Kirkpatrick. "I hope that was okay? You did mention you missed your friends and the area, when we spoke the other day."

"How?" asked Mrs. Granger.

"Err...I don't work in that exact department, but I assume they approached a muggle authority, possibly via your own Ministry and made an offer the current owners couldn't refuse. You _are_ okay to go back to the same house?" asked an uncertain Ben.

"Yes, we're completely stunned, but yes; it will be lovely to go back there," said Mrs. Granger. "It's just a shame we won't have all the furniture and things we had before. I assume we sold it off when we left, because there aren't any of our items around the flat."

"All furniture will be back in place," said Ben, smiling, enjoying the shocked expressions he was provoking. "It seems you put everything into storage, possibly to have shipped over here eventually. Anyway, it will all be back where it should be...within a little. I'm told the Ministry in the UK will make sure of that."

"I can't thank you enough," said Mr. Granger, as he extended his hand to shake Ben's.

"It's been a pleasure," said Ben. "If it wasn't for your daughter and Ginny Weasley and their friends, we might _all_ have been under threat. The least we can do is help the family of Hermione Granger."

Hermione blushed, as did Ginny, but the redhead still smiled at the brunette and gave her a little wink. Even knowing what the magical world was capable of, both girls had been nearly as surprised as Hermione's parents, at the extent of work that had been done to help them all, and the speed of it.

"Do we have to go soon?" asked Ginny. "We weren't told how long we were allowed to be here?"

"You can stay a couple more days if you want to. I think you've earned the right to do what you like, within reason," laughed Ben.

"Perhaps we could stay another couple of days, if that's all right with you?" Hermione asked her parents.

"Of course, we'll love having you both here. We can show you a little of Melbourne, if you like?" said her mother.

"Hermione said she always wanted to visit Australia," said Ginny. "At least she'll get to see a tiny part of it while we're here."

"Okay, so, if you fly back after the weekend," said Hermione, considering. "Perhaps we'll stay until Thursday. It gives us time to get back without worrying Ginny's parents too much by staying longer and it also gives you and Dad a couple of days to prepare, or relax, before flying back."

"That sounds fine with us," said Mrs. Granger.

"All righty, then," said Ben. "I'll drop by again on Thursday to collect Hermione and Ginny." He stood up, shook all their hands and left.

"Wow, the magic world is fast!" said Mrs. Granger, as she flopped down into a chair.

"Sometimes," said Hermione. "When our own Ministry had Fudge as the Minister, it was very slow; slow and in denial. Not at all as efficient as the Aussie branch."

"Hopefully Kingsley will make improvements to ours," said Ginny.

"You know your Minister on first name terms?" asked Mr. Granger.

"Um...yes," said Hermione with a grin. "He was in the Order; we saw him quite a lot. He was the obvious choice as Minister after Voldemort was gone."

"Hermione...I know this might be a bit soon to ask," began her mother. "Only, from the way it sounds, you two could probably choose any job you liked within the Ministry. Are you going to work for ours?"

"It crossed my mind, as Harry works there," answered Hermione. "Then I thought on it, and part of me just wants something normal again; and I never did any of my final and Seventh Year at Hogwarts. So, providing it opens in September, which people seem to think will happen, I'm going back to Hogwarts to do my final year."

"How about you Ginny?" asked Mr. Granger.

"I'm going back to school too," Ginny replied. "It's not just because of Hermione; I'd probably be going back even if Hermione wasn't. I hardly got to do my Sixth Year, but I also have a couple of tests I want to pass and I want to play some quidditch again."

"Ginny will be attracting the attention of scouts from the professional teams," said Hermione, proudly. "They'll be queuing up to sign her."

Ginny blushed. "I don't know about that," she said. "I'd like to see if they think I'm good enough. Even if I got any offers, I'm not sure I'd take them...but it would be nice to get back out on the quidditch pitch. Something a bit normal for a change."

"Well, whatever you choose we'll support you, Hermione," said her father. "I'm pleased to hear you want to finish your studies, though. Your parents must be pleased about that too, Ginny?"

"Yeah, they are."

"They must be very proud of you, like we are of Hermione."

"I think so," said Ginny. "I think half the time lately, my parents don't know whether to congratulate me or tell me off." She laughed.

"Oh, I'm sure they're very proud of you, dear," said Mrs. Granger.

"Yeah. I was then thinking about when I stepped between Hermione and Bellatrix, and..." Ginny laughed, she couldn't help it.

"You nearly died, didn't you?" asked Mr. Granger.

"Yes she did!" said Hermione. "I'm not sure I can laugh about it yet."

"Sorry, it's just that I remember Mum's face after I came round; she didn't know whether to spank me like a naughty child, or give me a medal for stubborn Weasley courage!" said Ginny.

Hermione did have to smile at that. "_I'd_ give you a medal for stubborn Weasley courage. If you hadn't been stubborn and courageous, I might still be in 1943, in some military prison, being interrogated as a spy! There was no way those Americans were going to let me get better and just leave."

The Granger parents had been watching the exchange and then looked at each other with a knowing smile. They could both see once again what an immense bond existed between the two girls and how much they loved one another.

Hermione's parents only had two patients in the afternoon and then made a start on cancelling the patients in their appointment book for the rest of the week and sent out a letter to any patients booked longer in advance. They were done by 3.30pm and decided to take Hermione and Ginny to some nearby shops and a park, before they had dinner together at a restaurant. The next couple of days the Grangers showed a bit more of Melbourne to the girls. Hermione had changed some of her money into Australian dollars and had to smile at the fact she was doing it the conventional way, by using the local bank's exchange facilities, rather than pointing her wand at the money.

Ginny wanted to take back some gifts for her family; she bought her mother a soft toy kangaroo, holding an Australian flag, which played 'Waltzing Matilda' when its belly was pressed. It had her in a fit of giggles in the shop and she had to buy it. She'd been impressed by the ingenuity of the kangaroo and knew her dad would be equally interested, so bought one for him too, in case he had an urge to take it apart to find out how it worked. She ended up buying one for Bill and one for George, knowing the latter would think of some way to make a magical equivalent, or even a rude version.

They all enjoyed the few days together and Hermione's parents hadn't changed their stance regarding their daughter's relationship; they seemed to accept it and not be bothered by it in any way. Hermione had wondered if they'd been in shock to begin with and once they'd thought it over more, she wondered if they would have a talk with her, to say they weren't so sure over her choices after all. That never happened, however, and all four of them felt relaxed in each other's company.

The two girls had decided they'd go back to England via the floo network, around lunchtime on Thursday. When the time came and they had packed up their things in the spare bedroom, Hermione began to feel reluctant.

"I know my parents will be back in England soon," Hermione said, as she sat on the end of the bed. "But it suddenly feels hard to think about leaving them now."

Ginny sat next to her on the bed and put an arm around her. "It's understandable. You've been so long without seeing them, and having the doubt whether you could even find them, let alone if they'd talk to you again after everything. Of course you don't want to be separated so soon."

"I still feel a bit guilty and a bit of a hypocrite."

"They understood everything," replied Ginny. "There's no need to feel guilty over the memory charm."

"It's not that. It's the fact I hardly thought of them after the first few weeks of being with Ron and Harry. I deliberately pushed them away from my mind to function, knowing that thoughts about them wouldn't help me and would only make me feel worse. Now I've found them I feel I can't leave them."

"Hermione, you can't keep punishing yourself for things that have happened. You can't change the facts over what you had to do, or even the way you had to think; even with another Time-Turner you can't alter those things. The main thing is, your parents understand and forgive you. In this case, look forward and try not to look back."

Hermione leaned in to Ginny and laid her head on her shoulder. "You always make me feel better."

"You do the same for me," said Ginny.

"I know we've spoken about this before, that the last few years I've had to rely upon myself for most things, but since we went on that mission I've no longer felt alone."

"That's because you aren't alone, anymore," said Ginny, as she placed a kiss on top of Hermione's head.

Hermione sighed deeply. "It's only for a few days, isn't it? I'm being irrational!"

"Not really," said Ginny. "Anyway, we've soon got to leave whatever we're thinking. Ben will be here any minute to take us back to the Ministry."

The two young women shared a hug, before checking the room to make sure they'd left nothing behind. There was a moment of giggles when Ginny accidentally set off one of the musical kangaroos as she placed it into her bag, and they could still faintly hear the echoes of it even with the bag closed. Their packing complete, they walked through to the living area of the flat, where Hermione's parents were.

"Are you two all set?" asked Mrs. Granger.

"Yes, Mum," said her daughter. "We've packed everything. Are you and Dad nearly ready for your flight home?"

"Nearly," said Mrs. Granger. "We have a few things left to pack for our ordinary luggage, as most of the things the Ministry will be sending over, somehow. Oh and we have a couple of things to collect from the dry-cleaners."

There was a knock at the door, and Hermione looked for the time and saw it was just gone 12pm, which meant it was probably Ben, coming to collect them. Her father went to the door and sure enough, there was the Aussie Ministry official, all smiles and greetings.

"Well, we'd better go, I suppose," said Hermione, her reluctance obvious to everyone.

"We'll see you again in a few days," said Mrs. Granger, as she hugged her daughter. "The days will fly by...literally!"

"I know you might be jet-lagged, but I'll try to see you when you get back," said Hermione, as she hugged her father, doing her best to fight back the urge to cry.

As Mrs. Granger gave Ginny a hug she said, "Thank you for taking care of my daughter."

"Err...she does the same for me," said a slightly flustered Ginny.

"I don't just mean now, but when you found her again in 1943. Thank you."

"Oh...she still would have done the same for me," replied Ginny, smiling, before being surprised by Mr. Granger also giving her a hug.

"I'm so glad we found you," said Hermione. "And...and...everything."

"You two take care, and we'll see you in a few days," said Mr. Granger, aware that his wife was as teary-eyed as his daughter. He too was only a fraction away from joining them.

"We'd better go," said Hermione. "Or I'll never leave."

With a last look at her parents and giving a little wave, Hermione and Ginny followed Ben out of the flat, where outside the door he Side-Along Apparated them to the Australian Ministry. On arriving in the foyer, they were greeted by Athena Broomhead the Aussie Minister.

"Everything went well, so I gather?" asked the Minister.

"Yes, better than expected," said Hermione. "Thank you so much for all your help."

"It's been a pleasure," said Athena. "We'll take good care of your parents and make sure everything goes smoothly with their travel and the move." She looked at the two young women in front of her before adding, "There will always be a job for both of you here, if you ever tire of England."

"I haven't thought much about jobs," replied Hermione. "I should be going back to Hogwarts for my final year."

"The same for me," said Ginny.

"There's no time limit on the offer," said Athena.

"Thank you," said Hermione. "So, are we able to go back to my home in Godric's Hollow from here, or do we have to arrive back somewhere else?"

"It's up to you," said the Minister.

"Let's go back to your house, first," said Ginny. "Then we can decide where to go after that; besides, won't it be the early hours of the morning in England?"

"That's correct," said Athena.

"We'll go back to Godric's Hollow, then," said Hermione.

Athena Broomhead led them over to a floo network alcove and after shaking hands with both girls, proffered a bag of the special floo powder for them to take a handful from. A last thank you and goodbye to the Minister, and with Ginny holding her hand, Hermione uttered their destination and instigated their travel.

After a long and almost bruising journey, Hermione and Ginny arrived and walked out of the fireplace in the house in Godric's Hollow. Ginny pulled out her wand and immediately lit two lamps in the sitting room.

"We're going to be all over the place with the time now," said Hermione, as she decided on taking the lazy route of using her wand to get rid of the grubby smears of their journey; she flicked her wand at Ginny as well.

The clock in the room said it was nearly four o'clock in the morning. Neither girl knew whether to stay awake or go to bed.

"Technically, it's lunchtime for us on Aussie time," said Ginny. "So, let's do a little compromise. How about we treat things as a night time feast? Have, say, a hot chocolate and some cookies, then go to bed, even if we only chat up there, yes?"

"Good plan," said Hermione. "I thought we should probably pay the Burrow a visit tomorrow, when we feel up to it."

"Yeah, we'd better pop in and see Mum, in case she sends a howler to the Aussie Ministry accusing them of detaining us or something."

They went through to the kitchen, each enjoying a hot chocolate accompanied by some chocolate chip cookies. Afterwards, Hermione wandered through to the study and saw Hugo's cage was empty; she'd left the window open for him and assumed he was out hunting, much to the annoyance of the local, mouse, vole and rat population.

Both girls brushed their teeth and got ready for bed, as if it were a normal night and not the early hours. Understandably neither felt that sleepy and they talked. The subjects ranged from what they had seen in Australia, both at the Ministry there and when they were with Hermione's parents, to other magical things. After a short time they closed their eyes and tried to get some sleep, but it didn't seem to happen. They still slept with the lights on very low, such was their routine now, but as it was something they had always done, it was unlikely to be the cause of their sleeplessness.

Hermione shifted a little, as did Ginny, trying to adjust position for optimum chance of sleep creeping up on them. Ginny was content to just rest her eyes, even if nothing more happened, but her bedfellow wasn't as calm about it and uttered a few little noises of annoyance.

"Urgh! I'm not at all sleepy," said Hermione, suddenly. "At this rate I'll be awake the rest of the night then fall asleep, face first, into my dinner."

"We don't have to be on a timetable," said Ginny, calmly.

"It bloody ridiculous! It's still fairly dark outside; my body should realize this and just...SLEEP!"

"It's only for a day or two, then we should have got used to the times again," said Ginny, trying to sooth her girlfriend. "We've often had broken nights due to our stupid dreams, so it's not a lot different."

"It's just me," said Hermione. "I get irritable when I can't follow my usual routine...or in this case, the way things should be and that something simple isn't happening." She said this giving an almost furious punch to her pillow, as if blaming it for why she couldn't get sleepy.

"Irritable? Really? I hadn't noticed?!" said Ginny with a heap of sarcasm, which Hermione replied to with a particular look. Unfortunately the expression didn't make Ginny step back, it made her laugh.

"Yes, why don't we laugh at Hermione Granger because she can't get to sleep?! Or better still, let's laugh at her choice of bubblebath!" said Hermione, gesticulating wildly with her arms.

Ginny caught one of the arms and stilled Hermione's movement, as she grasped the hand. "Hey, I'm not laughing at you, I thought I was laughing _with_ you. I don't see how we can change the fact we've had our time buggered up; it won't be forever. I don't see why we need to be frustrated at something we can't change."

Looking at Hermione, as she held one of her hands, Ginny could see that her girlfriend looked almost confused. _I think it's everything catching up with her, _she thought, knowingly, _finding her parents and actually talking to them; telling them everything and then having to come back here without them. Maybe I can help her with the frustration and sleep problem..._

The redhead leaned over Hermione and kissed her, and as they broke apart again Ginny looked into the brunette's eyes. "We're okay, aren't we?"

Hermione nodded. "Yes, of course we are. I'm being stupid, and my brain feels frazzled for some reason and my body clock is giving me the wrong signals."

"I know a way to help you get sleepy," said Ginny.

"You do?"

"Hmm-mm," Ginny grinned; as she kissed Hermione again, she slid her hand down under the covers and rested it between Hermione's legs, lightly squeezing her mound.

Hermione's eyes flew open. "That's your plan, is it?" she asked with a smirk.

Ginny kissed and nibbled her way to an ear, sucking the earlobe before whispering. "No, not quite." She quickly and fluidly moved her hand inside Hermione's pyjama bottoms and slid her fingers into the woman's nether folds.

"Ohhh," was all Hermione could utter to begin with, as Ginny moved her exploring fingers.

"Want me to stop?" asked Ginny, playfully, completely aware of how Hermione was responding to her, both in her breathing and the added moisture she felt with her fingers. "Hmm, this probably wasn't a good plan, after all," she said, beginning to take her hand away.

"Don't you dare!" said Hermione, as she got hold of Ginny's hand and directed it back to her groin, as she pulled Ginny down for a hungry kiss. She reached a hand back under her pillow for her wand and had them both naked with a simple flick.

As she kept her hand moving at a steady pace, Ginny continued to kiss Hermione, pushing her tongue into the brunette's mouth, as she entered her with her fingers; as always, she was loving how she could almost swallow Hermione's moans.

Slightly surprising Ginny, Hermione rolled them a little, so she was facing her more on her side, as her hand trailed a path down to Ginny's groin; they both sighed into their kisses as Hermione's hand made contact with the redhead's most intimate place. Having her mind a little distracted with Hermione's manoeuver, Ginny had nearly stopped her hand's movements, until she felt Hermione move against her, reminding her of what she _should_ be doing. As had happened many times before, they were reaching their peak together, wanting to fall into the abyss of pleasure as one.

Hands and fingers moved faster and firmer; kisses were more urgent; breathing was more laboured, and finally both young women shuddered into that sought-after oblivion, voicing the other's name more than once, writhing with the liberating sensations they had given to each other.

Hermione pressed several gentle kisses to Ginny's lips and cheek. "I liked your plan," she whispered, breathily. "We haven't done that for a few days."

"Shock! Horror! We haven't bonked each other for a few days!" laughed Ginny, her breathing still heavier from passion. "I thought you were frustrated about other things, maybe there was a little sexual frustration there too?"

"Sexual frustration?" Hermione questioned, before giving a laugh. "Why not, I seemed to be ratty about everything else! I still liked your plan, though."

Ginny moved to hover over Hermione again and kissed her before saying, "My plan isn't complete yet."

"It's not?"

"No," said Ginny, as she kissed a trail from Hermione's lips, to her chin, her throat, her sternum and only briefly kissing each breast, before moving lower and sticking her tongue into Hermione's navel.

"I see! That's your little...gaaaaaaaame!" said Hermione, as Ginny reached her goal, with her head between Hermione's thighs, as her tongue explored her lover's treasures.

Hermione's breathing had become faster as soon as she realized what Ginny's intention was, and her hips lifted off the bed as she felt the redhead's tongue against her again. _Hmm, how I want to taste her too, _she thought, _I wonder..._

"Gin?"

Ginny stopped and looked up, wondering if Hermione didn't want what she was going to do to her. _Maybe she's a bit too sensitive after the first part? _thought Ginny. However, as she looked up, she could see Hermione was thinking, and either thinking what to say or how to say it.

"I...I want to do the same to you," said Hermione. "Only at the same time...if you get my meaning?"

Immediately Ginny knew what Hermione was saying; her extensive reading and interesting conversations with friends, gave her that knowledge, only in the heterosexual sense, but she knew what it was about; with the comfort in their relationship, she didn't feel nervous or confused about trying it. "Ahh, the fabled sixty-nine," Ginny said, with a huge grin.

"It's not a fable," said Hermione. "It's entirely possible."

"Oh, I'm aware of that!" said Ginny with a little laugh, as she crawled back up Hermione's body and hovered over her, looking into her eyes. "And you want us to try it?"

Hermione swallowed deeply, and looking back up at an amused Ginny, she nodded her head. "How is it you're 'aware' of it? I thought..."

"Just because I wasn't sure...you know...about _some_ things, doesn't mean I haven't read about stuff, or heard about it. However," said Ginny. "The practical and the theory are two entirely different things." Ginny lowered her head and kissed Hermione. "I think it will be...interesting."

"I hope it's more than that!" said Hermione with a giggle.

Chuckling a little, Ginny moved and turned herself around and after a little jiffling and more chortles of laughter, both women had the position they needed; that is to say, when Ginny felt Hermione's tongue between her legs she knew she was _definitely_ in the right place, as she lowered her head between Hermione's legs again.

Both Hermione and Ginny couldn't believe how it felt; it was an incredible feeling. The whole act turned on both young women beyond belief, and it wasn't long before they both moaned out the other's name, crashing over into a powerful climax.

After a few minutes, recovering their breathing, and getting some control back to their bodies, Ginny moved to lie next to Hermione in the bed. They kissed and spoke of their love for each other, and contentedly held each other.

"So," said Ginny. "Was it better than 'interesting'?"

"Definitely. It felt incredible."

"I know," said Ginny. "It was like...like...I can't describe it. It was like...," she snorted with laughter.

"What?" encouraged Hermione. "I'd like to know what you're thinking about it."

"It...as bizarre as it sounds, it was like, when I pressed my tongue against you, I could feel it on myself," said Ginny, unavoidably blushing. "And I know that sounds crazy, because who on earth wants to tongue themselves? Well, except for Pansy Parkinson!" she said with a laugh.

A little giggle escaped Hermione's lips. "I know what you mean. I know _exactly _what you mean!" she said. "It felt like that to me, yet I still knew it was you and that was even better." She yawned.

"Ah ha!" said Ginny.

"What?"

"You yawned! Has my plan worked? Are you just a teeny-weeny bit sleepy?"

"Actually, yes," said Hermione with a grin. "My body feels knackered. Hmm, thank you," she said, giving Ginny a kiss, before she couldn't prevent another yawn.

"Come here," said Ginny, as she cuddled up to Hermione, feeling very tired herself. "Even if it's only a nap, it will help."

"Hmm. What time is it?"

Ginny moved her head to see the clock on the dressing table. "It's gone seven o'clock. So it's been lighter outside a while, but our curtains are blocking out most of it."

"A couple of hours sleep sounds good, right now," said Hermione as she closed her eyes.

Looking at her girlfriend, feeling such love for her, Ginny smiled and settled back down herself, closing her eyes and finding sleep.

**A/N: The musical kangaroos are real. I have a lot of family in Australia(some are over visiting at the moment) and was given one as a fun gift; it never fails to raise a smile. :) However, accidentally setting it off at 3am isn't quite so fun...with no amount of muffling able to shut the thing up!**


	79. Paws for Thought

**A/N: Only slightly delayed getting this ready. There might be a day or two delay next week too.**

**In case you were wondering 'Paws' in the title isn't a bad spelling of 'pause'. :) You may think this chapter is dull, and I did wonder about splitting it and putting half at the end of ch.78 and half at the beginning of ch.80. However, the several times I've read through the story, I always came back to leaving it whole. It's one of those linking chapters rather than a filler, so I haven't just garbled out a load of verbal diarrhea for the sake of making a chapter, but you might not see why I've left it in until you've read the entire story. I think this can be classed as the last potentially boring chapter. **

**Again...****Please Note:**** I do not accept anonymous reviews. I've mentioned this in several A/Ns and the reasons for it. I never even read anonymous reviews anymore and each day I go to the 'moderate' section and if any reviews are there, I simply check the red delete box. I've noticed in the past week I've had a few more anonymous reviews to delete again, so please don't waste your time. Unless it's still the trolls reviewing me...in which case they can waste all the time they want to, I'm not reading a word of it anyway. :) **

79: Paws for Thought

Ginny entered a dream; she had already become used to having ordinary nonsense dreams, which she hardly remembered, or none at all, now. The potential of her dreams no longer scared her, because both in life and in her dreams, she had faced everything she could think of within the realms of extreme pain and weirdness..._zzzzzzz_

She was aware straight away that she was at the Burrow, and one or two members of her family were wandering around inside. Walking from the kitchen to go through to the stairs, on her way to her room, she presumed, she was stopped by her mother.

"Ginny, go and get your father, will you?"

"Where is he?" asked Ginny.

"He's in his shed," said her mother, rolling her eyes.

"Can't someone else go and get him?"

"I'm asking _you_ to do it," said Mrs. Weasley, with her hands on her hips.

"All right," said Ginny. "Is there a reason you want me to disturb him from his shed?"

"I want his opinion on something; just do it, please."

_My god, this is a boring dream! _thought Ginny as she was dreaming, _I suppose I should be thankful for it. It's not like I miss those awful things I used to dream in recent times._

The dream-Ginny walked out of the kitchen door and made her way over to her dad's shed. It didn't look like the real shed, it looked a bit smaller and the door was shut. As she approached the door she was aware of a blur of an object jumping off the roof, of somewhere she wasn't sure of, and landing in front of her.

"Shit!" she said in surprise, wondering what on earth it was. Looking down she saw that it was in fact the very proud Crookshanks. "You made me jump!"

Crookshanks' tail shot up straight and he started purring, so Ginny bent down and ruffled the fur on his head and neck. "Come on, you," she said to the cat. "We've got a mission to part my Dad from his shed."

Ginny took a pace forwards, but Crookshanks got in front of her and tried to block her way, which made her laugh at the playfulness of the cat; with no further thought she made to reach for the latch handle on the shed door, but was stopped by Crookshanks taking a stance that a cat takes if it was about to enter a fight. The scruff of his neck was standing up, as was the fur along his back; his tail was as big as a fox's, and he was making a strange yowling noise. It wouldn't have been a strange thing to witness in a cat, but for the fact that Crookshanks wasn't hissing at the door, he was actually facing Ginny and directing his posture towards her. She looked around, thinking there was another cat, or even a dog behind her, but there wasn't.

"There's nothing there," Ginny said to the ginger cat. "Don't be silly. Come on, out of the way, I've got to see Dad." She made to put her hand to the door again and Crookshanks moved, but only to wrap his paws around Ginny's ankle and sink his teeth into her.

"OWWWWWwwwwwwwwwww! Stop it! Get Offff!" Ginny yelled, in pain, hopping backwards, trying to fling Crookshanks off.

_What the hell did he do that for? _thought Ginny, _he's usually nice to me. _

The dream-Ginny shook her head, looked down at her ankle and rolled up the leg of her jeans to assess the damage. Thankfully there were only a couple of teeth marks, which had drawn very little blood. Wondering what was up with Crookshanks and giving him a disappoving look as he sat to one side washing his face with his paws, Ginny walked towards the shed again.

"OWWWwwwwwwwwwww! STOP IT!" she yelled in pain. Once again Crookshanks had attacked her and was now clamped around her other ankle, his claws and teeth causing a lot of pain.

_Remind me never to piss off Crookshanks in real life, _she thought, _he's got knives for teeth and...OWWWWWWWWWWW!...zzzzzzz_

Ginny woke up suddenly and immediately discovered her ankle and foot were giving her pain for real. After a fleeting moment of panic, she soon realized it was in fact cramp and she nearly laughed about it. She sat up and swung her legs to the side of the bed and got up, walked a few steps, and gradually felt the cramp go.

"You okay, Ginny?" asked Hermione, in a sleepy voice.

"Walking off a bit of cramp, that's all," replied Ginny. "I'm going to the loo, then I'll be back. Go back to sleep, if you can."

"Okay," mumbled a half asleep Hermione.

When Ginny got back into bed and comfortable again, she was amused by her dream. _So, cramp in real life passed over into Crookshanks biting my ankles in my dream, _she thought. _Dreams are completely crazy. If a foot cramp is a biting Crookshanks, I dread to think what a period pain would translate to?! _She settled back and closed her eyes, hoping that if Hermione's ginger cat appeared again, that he'd be better behaved.

Hermione had gone back to sleep, even though it was well into the morning outside; she too ended up in a dream..._zzzzzzz_

She was aware she was at the Burrow herself, going down the stairs, presumably from Ginny's room, to wherever she wanted to go. Mrs. Weasley was downstairs, as was Charlie, George and Harry; she couldn't see Ron, much to her relief, but she also couldn't see Ginny.

"There you are, Hermione," said Mrs. Weasley, as Hermione walked through to the kitchen. "Ginny wondered where you were."

"I was upstairs," replied Hermione.

"Were you?"

"I think so," she said. _Where else does Mrs. Weasley think I was? _Hermione thought as she dreamed. _Considering I descended the stairs!_

"No matter, she's outside, I'm sure you'll find her out there," said Mrs. Weasley.

"Okay," said Hermione, as she made her way outside. She looked around and at first didn't see anyone, then on a look to her right she saw Ginny kneeling down in a flower bed with a trowel. "Ginny?"

The redhead looked up and waved. "I'm planting some flowers!" she laughed, brandishing her trowel like a trophy.

_Since when does Ginny plant flowers? And why isn't she using her wand? _thought Hermione, wanting to laugh. _This will be fun!_

Hermione walked over to her and saw that she was planting not just flowers but some magical plants and things they used as potion ingredients too; next to some tulip bulbs, and a couple of bedding plants, she saw lavender, asphodel and wolfsbane.

"I didn't know you liked gardening?" asked Hermione.

"Neither did I, until this morning," said Ginny. "Bill wanted to plant some things for Mum, and I sort of got roped into it."

"Bill's here?" asked Hermione.

"Yeah, he's around the other side of the house preparing some seedlings to plant. Which reminds me, I need to go and get some more, I think Mum wanted some polyanthus and lycanthus flowers over here too," said Ginny, standing up.

_She's only been gardening this morning,_ _but she's talking like a horticulturalist! _thought a tickled Hermione.

Hermione watched Ginny go around the corner of the Burrow, and thought she might as well follow and see if Bill really was there repotting seedlings, or whatever he was supposed to be doing. She hadn't walked many steps when Crookshanks walked up to her, his tail in the air.

"Hello, Crookshanks," said Hermione, as she bent down to stroke his head and rub his ears, delighted in hearing him purr. "Are you going to accompany me?" _I don't think they'll be too happy if he pees up against their new plants! _thought Hermione, wanting to giggle.

She walked a few steps, approaching the corner of the house; Crookshanks ran ahead and stood in front of her. Hermione walked up to him with a smile and made to walk around him, but Crookshanks jumped up and attempted to bite her hand.

"What?! You've never bitten me before?! Never even tried to?!" said a surprised Hermione; the real Hermione observing the dream was equally surprised. _Why did he do that?!_

She made to walk forward again, and once more the ginger cat jumped up and this time took a swipe at her hand with a very big clawed paw. "What are you doing? I know I left you for months; I know I've let Mrs. Weasley become your more permanent guardian...but I've always had your best interests at heart. I've never hurt _you!"_ she said, as she sucked her hand where her cat had drawn blood.

"Come on, out of the way," she said, trying to shoo the cat away from her path. "I'm only going to see Ginny, you like her."

Instead of walking away, however, Crookshanks didn't move and his fur had puffed up and his tail had become a massive size, as he made himself look bigger, as if guarding his ground and his territory. _What the hell is up with him? _thought a confused Hermione.

Hermione walked a pace forward, and this time, not only did Crookshanks _try _to make himself bigger, he actually _was_ getting bigger. Hermione watched on in amazement as her cat grew before her very eyes; he was the size of a spaniel dog now, and didn't seem to be stopping at that. It became more disconcerting, when not only did Crookshanks continue to grow, but he also seemed to have changing features. He wasn't just attaining the size of a very large dog, he was beginning to look like a dog...or some kind of creature with canine-like features.

_I really don't understand this, _thought Hermione as she dreamed, _why is Crookshanks turning into a big hound thing?_

Watching on, with no sign of Ginny returning from the other side of the house, or Bill, Hermione thought she'd try to walk past the creature and at least poke her head around the corner of the house, to get Ginny and Bill's attention, to come and see what she was seeing. She walked a step forward and stopped; the thing that was once Crookshanks, but had retained only the ginger colour, snarled, its lips peeling back to show sharp teeth; very large sharp teeth. The creature was in a posture that suggested it might pounce at any moment, and before Hermione could think about where she wanted to go and to get to Ginny, the creature bounded forward, knocked her to the ground and growled in her face.

_Great, _thought Hermione, _is this the part where I get my neck bit? Or it tries to mate with me, like a scene from a really bad horror film? And why hasn't anyone noticed the snarling and growling and wondered why I'm lying on the ground with it on top of me?_

In a very surprising move, the creature sniffed her and then licked her face and neck. _Wonderful!? It's going to lick me to death! _thought Hermione, with humour.

However, her amusement was quickly halted when the creature looked into her face; with its eyes narrowing, an expression she almost recognized for a moment, it snarled an angry snarl and instead of biting her face or neck, it tried to bite at her chest, ripping her clothing with its sharp teeth, before it broke the skin; it snapped its jaws again, breaking two ribs, all the while with Hermione helpless to stop it, seemingly unable to even move. Then it bit at her chest again; feeling a tearing sensation, so painful that she couldn't even scream, she watched in horror as the beast moved its head back and in its mouth was her heart..._zzzzzzz_

Hermione woke up sharply, sat up and immediately put her hands to her chest, as her breathing came in distressed pants. Ginny woke up as soon as she'd felt the sudden movement, and on seeing Hermione, she knew she'd had a bad dream. She also sat up and placed a gentle hand on her shoulder.

"Bad dream?" asked the redhead.

"Shit!" Hermione said, gradually getting her breathing more steady. "It was a weird dream to begin with, then went peculiar to the extreme, before climbing the charts of painful and disturbing."

"Come here," said Ginny, lying back and opening her arm for Hermione to cuddle up to her. "Can you tell me what it was about?"

Hermione recounted her dream, making them both smile at Ginny's sudden interest in flora and fauna, but when she mentioned Crookshanks Ginny gave a little exclamation.

"He was in my dream too!" said Ginny. "Biting my ankles for some reason. The second time he did it, I woke up and then realized I had cramp in my foot!"

"Crookshanks bit you?" asked Hermione, and when Ginny nodded. "He sort of attacked me too." She told Ginny about Crookshanks getting bigger and changing into the huge dog-like creature, and then told her about her heart being ripped out.

Ginny held Hermione tighter and kissed her cheek. "That was bad," she said in disbelief. "Why would you dream of him attacking you? OR changing into, whatever the hell he turned into?"

"I don't know," replied the brunette. "I didn't understand it as I was dreaming it, and I don't understand it now. Perhaps it's just the time-difference playing with my mind. I mean, I _was _agitated before we went to bed...even with your very successful attempt to relax me."

"I hope this doesn't mean the return of bloody stupid dreams again?!" said Ginny. "I thought we'd be okay with whatever dreams happened now; it would be better if they didn't happen ever again."

"It was complete and utter nonsense," said Hermione. "Yet, it felt nearly real in places. Of all the things in that dream which could have been awkward or dangerous, Crookshanks wasn't on that list. It would have made a little more sense if it were Harry, or Ron, or..."

"Hey, maybe it w_as _Ron?!" said Ginny, suddenly.

"What?"

"Well, essentially, you wanted to reach me, but Crookshanks blocked your way; when you wanted to ignore him and still go onwards to see me, he changed. From what you told me, he turned into a big ginger beast with a snarling temper and it wanted to rip your heart out. It could have been Ron."

"Ron? I thought we were past the biggest hurdles with him?" questioned Hermione.

"We might be, but sometimes the mind likes to throw in a few confusing situations. We're going to the Burrow tomorrow...which might be today already...anyway, we're going there soon, so you might have been subconsciously thinking of seeing him there," offered Ginny.

"Maybe...perhaps. Even so, why would Crookshanks turn into a pissed off dog version of Ron?"

"Not completely sure on that," said Ginny, with a little chuckle. "But his patronus is a dog; Ron's a big ginger lump too...and, well, we kind of ripped _his_ heart out, didn't we?"

"Hmm, I see what you mean," said Hermione with a big sigh.

"Dreams can be nonsensical too, but I would bet this is about that, mixed with a bit of mental tiredness from your reunion with your parents."

"Yeah, I think you're right," replied Hermione.

"I don't think I'll ever piss off Crookshanks in real life, though," said Ginny. "Wow, that cat has one hell of a bite on him!"

Hermione turned in their embrace and kissed Ginny on the lips. "Thank you."

Ginny kissed the brunette back. "No problem. I think I'm going to get up now." She sat up again and looked at the clock. "Oh, it's, err, gone 11 o'clock," she said with a laugh. "Oops!"

The two women gradually moved themselves, missed out breakfast and went on to lunch instead. In the afternoon they decided to go to the Burrow, even if it was only Mrs. Weasley at home. When they walked in through the kitchen door at the Burrow, the first person they saw was Ron, sitting at the table reading, which was strange in itself.

"You're back, then?" he said.

"Yeah, early hours of this morning," said Hermione, subtly trying to see what book he was reading.

"Did you see your parents?" Ron asked.

"Yes. It seems my memory charm had already worn off, or something. They were unsure what to do as their names were false, so I'm pleased I went when I did. Anyway, it was great to see them again. They should be back in England next week."

"They're not pissed off at you for the memory charm?" he asked.

"No, they sort of understand the reasons," said Hermione.

"I'm pleased for you," said Ron, slightly awkwardly. A short silence ensued with the atmosphere beginning to feel uncomfortable, seemingly from things left unsaid. Ron wanted to know if Hermione had told her parents about herself and Ginny, and yet at the same time it was the last thing he wanted to talk about.

Everyone was saved from the crippling silence when Mrs. Weasley walked into the kitchen, having been upstairs. "I thought I heard voices!" she said, immediately going over to hug Ginny; with very little thought the woman also hugged Hermione.

Ron watched on, not losing any of the discomfort he had about being in the same room as his sister and ex-girlfriend. He stood up and closed his book, which was on potions, of all subjects. "Well, I'll be going...err...to finish that thing...in the shed," he said, only just thinking of a realistic destination at the last moment.

"What thing?" asked Mrs. Weasley.

"You know...that thing Dad wanted me to have a look at," said Ron, and knowing he wasn't convincing any of the three women in the room, he resignedly walked out of the kitchen door with his book under his arm.

A couple of moments later Ginny said, "Well, he was talking to us, even if it did feel like walking on eggshells. That's progress, isn't it?"

"Things won't ever be the same," said Hermione, wistfully. _Things are certainly not the same if Ron's reading potions books!_ she thought, amused. "At least we can be civil with each other. He seems to want to get out of any room we're in, so he doesn't hang around long enough to argue."

"You two know things can't go back to the way they were," said Mrs. Weasley, but not unkindly. "So much has changed for everyone; all we can do is try to pick up the pieces and continue onwards. Anyway, I want to hear about your trip. Did you find your parents, Hermione?"

For the next hour or so, punctuated with cups of tea and a pumpkin juice, Hermione and Ginny told Mrs. Weasley all about their Australian trip, including what they had seen at the Ministry in Melbourne. Hermione chose her words carefully, in regards to her parents accepting everything straight away, but made sure to add in about them wanting to get to know the Weasleys better.

"They said that?" asked Mrs. Weasley.

"Yes. I think my Dad is even looking forward to Mr. Weasley asking him questions about muggle gadgets," said Hermione, with a smile.

"You don't have to have them over if you don't want to, Mum," said Ginny. "But they're really nice people; I know you'll like them."

"Well, if you two are as serious as you seem to be about each other, then it's only right that we get to know each other," said Mrs. Weasley. Although she had replied in a nearly lukewarm manner, she was feeling incredibly flattered and almost excited at the prospect.

"I have a couple of really silly presents," said Ginny. She opened her enchanted bag and pulled out two of the musical kangaroos. "One for you and one for Dad to take apart if he wants to."

"Why would he want to do that?" asked Mrs. Weasley, as she smiled broadly at the cute kangaroos with their little Australian flags.

"Press the tummy," said Ginny.

Mrs. Weasley did so, and nearly dropped the kangaroo when the bars of 'Waltzing Matilda' rang out. "What the...?"

"It's a muggle thing," said Hermione. "Soft toy animals with sounds."

"It's muggle?" asked an astonished Mrs. Weasley.

"Yeah, it's brilliant, and funny!" said Ginny.

Her mother stared at the second kangaroo. "Hmm, I think you might be right. I don't think this one will stay in this form for very long."

"So, Dad's at work?" asked Ginny.

"Yes, he is. Thankfully everything has quietened down a lot. All the departments, plus a few new ones, are working smoothly now. We didn't know when you'd be back, or I'm sure he'd have changed shifts or taken some time off this afternoon to see you."

"We got back before 4am," said Hermione. "I think we're going to take a while getting used to the time zone again; we left Melbourne at lunchtime there, and arrived back in the dark here."

Ginny had a fleeting image in her head of a frustrated Hermione, annoyed at not being able to sleep, and how she had helped with that. She quickly chased the thoughts away, because she didn't want to explain the stupid grin, which she knew she was close to wearing, to her mother.

"I bet your parents were surprised to get their old house back?" asked Mrs. Weasley.

"Yeah, we all were!" said Hermione.

"Are you going to meet them at the muggle airport? Or would you like Arthur to arrange a Ministry car?"

"Apparently a car has already been arranged," answered Hermione. "I'll probably go to the house and wait for them there on that day."

"Well, as you're back now, you can both go to Bill and Fleur's tomorrow afternoon," said Mrs. Weasley.

"We were going to see them, we just didn't know which day; why tomorrow afternoon?" asked Ginny.

"Both Bill and Fleur have the afternoon off, and they asked us over," said her mother.

"Us? Who's going to be there?"

"Your father and I, George for a couple of hours and Ron and Harry. Percy couldn't get time off. Charlie couldn't leave Romania this particular week, so that leaves us," said Mrs. Weasley.

"Ron will be there?" Ginny inquired.

"I don't think there'll be a problem," said Mrs. Weasley. "He doesn't stay in the same room as you two for long, and I expect we'll spend some time in the garden or even on the beach. There are plenty of options for you, to give each other space."

"Is there a special reason for tomorrow afternoon?" asked Hermione.

"Nothing sensible women would consider 'special'," said Mrs. Weasley, rolling her eyes. "Bill's finally putting the shed together and wanted Arthur to help him with it and put some things inside it too. Apparently, that warrants a family get together as if we were celebrating Christmas!?"

"Ahh, men and sheds," said Hermione. "One of the world's great wonders."

"We'll be there," said Ginny. "I've got a kangaroo for Bill and Fleur too."

Hermione laughed. "I think Ginny bought up Melbourne's entire stock of musical kangaroos."

"Would you two like to stay for dinner?" asked Mrs. Weasley.

Ginny looked to Hermione, who gave a little nod. "Yeah, that would be great. We can see Dad, then."

"Has there been any news on Hogwarts?" asked Hermione.

"Not really," said Mrs. Weasley. "A lot of it is back to the way it was, apparently. I think there were some problems with the staircases, and some Ministry people have gone up there to look into it."

As they sat at the kitchen table, Hermione was suddenly aware of something moving out of the corner of her eye. As she turned her head, she saw Crookshanks jump up onto the chair next to her, and then walk across to her lap.

"Hello Crookshanks!" she said.

"Careful with his teeth!" said Ginny, observing the cat half in jest, and half wondering if the cat really had the capabilities to turn nasty.

"Teeth? He doesn't bite," said Mrs. Weasley, confused.

"He bit both of us last night," said Hermione, as she stroked the cat, before adding. "We both had one of those strange dreams, but for some reason Crookshanks was in both dreams and attacked both of us."

"Were you thinking about him before you went to sleep?" asked Mrs. Weasley.

"No," said Hermione. _No, _she thought, _your daughter and I had just enjoyed each other! _"Err, we thought it was just a bit of nonsense, mixed in with the time difference."

"We also wondered if we were thinking of Ron being awkward with us," said Ginny. "Ginger grumpy cat, ginger grumpy bloke...it can easily get muddled up, I'm sure."

"Plus, I expect I was feeling a little guilty about leaving Crookshanks and sort of passing him over to someone else," said Hermione.

"He's happy," said Mrs. Weasley reassuringly. "And looking at him now, he's happy you're here. He's more intelligent than your average cat; I'm sure he understands things better than _we _do at times. Sirius spoke about him when we stayed at Grimmauld place a couple of years ago; I think he was very fond of him too."

"Yeah, Crookshanks was Sirius's accomplice, helping him to get into Hogwarts in our Third Year," said Hermione.

"I dreamed that Crookshanks wouldn't let me find Dad in the shed; Ron's supposedly just gone to our shed, so perhaps those dreams were a warning not to find him?" said Ginny. "I for one, will definitely leave Ron and Dad's shed alone!"

A little while later, Ginny and Hermione went for a walk around the Burrow, and the former even felt up to paying Fred's grave a visit. Hermione had said they didn't have to walk in that direction at all if she didn't want to, but Ginny _wanted _to pay Fred a visit. On approaching the tomb, both women could immediately see that the planting around it had taken shape, even in the few days since they had last seen it.

"It's beautiful," said Ginny, as she took in the colours of the various flowers and shrubs; the tomb was a picture of colour and nature. "It's nothing like the gloomy depressing place I saw in that dream, where I saw your grave and Harry's too. And it looks nothing like it did when...when I had that awful bloody dream about being buried in there."

Hermione reached for Ginny's hand. "It will sound strange, because of what this place actually is, but, it _is_ truly lovely."

"I bet Fred would have loved one of those kangaroos," said Ginny with half a smile. "I know George will; I can't wait to see what it inspires him to create."

The two young women enjoyed dinner with Mr. and Mrs. Weasley, where Ron turned up in time for dessert; he didn't say a lot, but had to laugh at the kangaroos. Not long after dinner was finished and the plates were taken away, Ron went up to his room. It was still a big improvement on any of the incidents that had happened between them all in the hours and days after the Battle. Hermione and Ginny went up to Ginny's room for her to sort through some of her clothes from their trip and to restock her enchanted bag.

"I think your Mum would like you around for a day or two. I'm sure she's been worried about you being away in Australia," said Hermione. "I can go back to Godric's Hollow and return tomorrow morning."

"I'm not staying without you!" said Ginny.

"There _will_ be times when we can't be together," said Hermione.

"I know that," replied Ginny. "But on nights where we don't _have _to be apart, why should we be?"

Hermione smiled. "All right, if you want me here, I'll stay too."

Ginny wrapped her arms around the brunette. "Want you?" she said in an amused voice. "I always want you."

Using a variation on a transfiguration spell, they were able to make the two single beds into one double, as they had done on the few nights they'd stayed there since the Battle. They shared some gentle goodnight kisses before entering a restful sleep, in which there were no strange dreams and more importantly for Hermione, no monster-Crookshanks dreams.


	80. A Sprat to Catch a Mackerel

**A/N: Slightly delayed again, sorry. The family I've had visiting includes a brother I haven't seen for around 7 years. Email, phone and even Skype are great to keep in touch, but it's so much better to have good long chats and a cuppa with someone face to face. :)**

**A possible warning for next week being delayed. As some of you may know, I have some health issues and this week I'm starting some new medical treatment, which will probably make me feel crappy for a few days each week in the first few weeks/months of it; I might not be able to do as much laptop time as I would like to, as my concentration might be more screwed than normal. :) However it's an attempt to fight back, so it's not all bad. :) I'll try to get ahead with checking the remaining chapters, but real life unfortunately takes first place over computer time. **

**The title of this chapter is inspired by an old saying my grandmother says from time to time...I couldn't not use it. :)**

80: A Sprat to Catch a Mackerel

Hermione and Ginny spent a lazy morning at the Burrow, looking through some of their old school books in Ginny's room.

"Buying books for Hogwarts seems like a lifetime ago," said Ginny, as she flicked through a copy of _A History of Magic._

"I suppose we might get a reading list from there soon, for our Seventh Year," considered Hermione.

"It's going to feel so strange; not just going back, but _all _of it. The missing people and the place itself."

"I think it will be one of those things we can only tackle one step at a time," said Hermione. "We're not alone. A lot of the Seventh Year are going to feel a multitude of emotions on returning; in fact, the whole school will feel affected."

"You'll still be a Prefect, won't you?" asked Ginny.

"I don't know. It's not that important to me, like it might once have been."

After having a very light lunch, Mrs. Weasley and Ron left for Shell Cottage and Hermione Side-Along Apparated Ginny; Mr. Weasley had left before lunch to help Bill. On arrival they could all see the partly-built shed not far from the main house, with one or two knocking and banging noises coming from the structure; the noises were not all manual, and equally made by magic.

"There isn't a shed at Godric's Hollow, is there?" asked Ginny.

"No, I don't think so; the garden might be overgrown but I don't think it's hiding a shed. What would I need a shed for, anyway?" replied Hermione.

"No idea, but it seems most people want one. Or is it just a place a bloke can go to, if their wife or girlfriend has argued with them?"

"I think that might well be the reason for them," laughed Hermione.

They walked into Shell Cottage and saw only Fleur talking with Mrs. Weasley. The Frenchwoman's eyes lit up when she saw Ginny and Hermione; it was mostly for genuine happiness to see them, but also an excellent excuse to get distracted from her mother-in-law.

With the routine greetings all dealt with, Ginny looked around them and saw it was only the four of them in sight. "Where is everyone? Or haven't they arrived yet?"

"Bill and Arthur are working on the shed, George went down to the beach for some reason and I think Harry went into the garden, and Ron went to find him," said Fleur. "Enough about them, I want to hear about how you two got on in Australia!"

Making themselves at home on comfortable chairs and the sofa, Hermione and Ginny told Fleur about their Australian excursion. Once or twice one of the others wandered in and listened to the conversation, asking things themselves. It wasn't long before both Ginny and Hermione felt a bit tired.

Bill and Fleur had hoped to eat outside, but not long after everyone had arrived, it had started to rain, with more gloomy black clouds rolling in from the sea. So they made do with staying inside and setting up buffet food on the kitchen table, with everyone sprawling around the house on various forms of seating, or even sitting on the floor in the case of Harry and Ron. After a short time, Bill and his father went back outside to finish work on the shed.

Fleur and George liked their musical kangaroos and, as predicted, George had come up with a few ideas for a magical version of other animals and creatures, and knowing what he was like, they suspected the items might end up doing more than playing music.

"Is that shed finally finished?" Fleur asked her husband a couple of hours later, when he wandered back indoors.

"Yes, we even have a few first tools in there, thanks to Dad," said Bill, grinning.

"_Tools_?" Fleur questioned. "Why would we need tools? We have wands?!"

"Well, you never know when they might be handy," said Bill, struggling to sound adamant about their use.

"I wouldn't worry, dear," said Mrs. Weasley to her daughter-in-law. "No need to worry yet, anyway. If Bill starts buying up muggle gadgets and taking them apart in there..._then _you can start worrying." She was pointedly staring at Arthur Weasley when she said the last part, and that raised a few laughs.

The rain was coming down heavier now, and could be heard on the windows. "I hope you finished the roof, at least?" said Fleur.

"One of the first things to be completed," said Bill. "There's not much in there that can be hurt, whatever the case."

As it got to 6pm the rain had finally stopped and it was dry enough for everyone to, almost ceremoniously, follow Bill and Mr. Weasley outside, to look at the wondrous new shed. The women shared plenty of strange expressions and eye-rolling as they were shown around the structure.

As they were about to walk outside again, having run out of interesting things to say about the inside of a shed, with few tools and a couple of empty work benches, Mrs. Weasley spoke. "I'm not a fan of sheds, or a lot of muggle items, but you'd best make use of it properly," she said to Bill and Fleur. "So your father and I have bought you some plants; some flowers, vegetables and fruit. They'll be waiting in the house, as we weren't exactly sure where we could Apparate them to in here."

Fleur looked very surprised and pleased. "That _is _very useful! Thank you. I won't mind a shed full of plants and pots...better than muggle gadgets everywhere."

"We'll give you a hand to bring them over from the house," said Mr. Weasley to Bill.

Everyone went back to the house, where Ron and Harry helped themselves to some more food and sat in a corner of the sitting room, talking and occasionally looking out of one of the windows towards the sea. George had to leave and go back to his shop, to prepare for the Saturday trade the next day.

Hermione was interested to see which fruit plants were being given to Bill and Fleur, because she'd always liked the idea of growing at least strawberries herself one day. In a corner of the kitchen Mrs. Weasley waved her wand and crates of plants appeared. The Weasley parents went through what everything was and said, if the plants were well tended and accelerated by magical means, then they'd save no end of money on groceries. Even Ginny was interested in the various vegetable and fruit plants in their young growth.

"Well, let's make a start taking them to the shed, shall we?" said Mr. Weasley, picking up a crate carefully, so as not to spill any soil or crush any of the plants. "Perhaps you two can help?" he said to Ginny and Hermione.

The girls both nodded, and picked up a crate each. "I think I've got tomato plants here," said Hermione, as she and Ginny walked over to the shed.

"No idea what I've got," said the redhead. "Looks like something green...oh, they're all green."

"What does it say on the tag in the pots?" asked Hermione.

"Runner beans."

Bill and Fleur were very enthusiastic about the new plants and already thinking of where in the spacious garden they'd place their essentially new grocery store. It was a good thing the shed had two long work benches, so there was plenty of room for the plants to stand, before being moved outside at a later date. After a second trip over with a crate each, Hermione and Ginny walked back into the kitchen, to see there were only two crates left.

"Hermione?" Harry called from the sitting room.

"Yes."

"Can you come here a moment and look at this?" Harry had got a book, of unknown subject matter, he was holding, with Ron looking at it too.

Hermione looked to Ginny; Bill had just taken one of the last crates over to the shed, leaving one more. "I can take this, go and see what they want," said the redhead, as she went to the last crate, holding young lavender shrubs.

As Ginny picked up the crate her father walked in. "I can take the last one, if you want?"

"I've already picked it up, so I might as well continue," said Ginny. As she turned, Bill walked in and asked the same thing, but as she'd nearly reached the door she was happy to go to the shed with the last crate. _I don't have to go over and talk to Ron for another couple of minutes this way, _she thought, relieved.

"There should be a place at the end of the bench, nearest the door," said Bill, as he went to the kitchen sink to wash his hands, after his father.

Hermione had gone over to Harry and tried not to think too hard about Ron being there too. "So what is it you want me to look at?" she asked.

"This is a report book from the Ministry, a new edition," said Harry. "It lists things that were confiscated from various people over the years, including the last few weeks; the rarer items."

"So that's a book only Ministry people see," said Hermione. "Of course, you work for them, so you get access."

"Anyway," said Harry. "Didn't you mention to us, at some point, that you sold a dragon's egg to Borgin? One that Dumbledore gave you?"

"Yes, it was one of the items we had to sell, to help with our fake identities. It was supposedly rare, an Orkney Red's egg," replied Hermione, already intrigued about the information Harry was seemingly about to reveal.

"Did Dumbledore say where he got it from?"

"No, and we never asked," said the brunette.

"It says in an entry here, for January 1945, that an Orkney Red dragon egg, in fossil formation, was confiscated from..." Harry placed a finger under the line in the book he wanted to show Hermione.

"Abraxas...MALFOY?!" Hermione said with realization. "I suppose I shouldn't be surprised. It _does_ question how Dumbledore got hold of it, to give it to us a few months later? If they're rare, it seems likely it's the same egg."

"I don't know for sure, maybe you can ask him," said Harry. "Apparently Dumbledore was always owed a lot of favours by the Ministry and I'm wondering if _that_ was a favour; to have his choice over objects confiscated from others. Perhaps he wanted items for academic investigation."

"Hmm, it's possible I suppose," said Hermione, deep in thought. "It's probably where he got that creepy skeleton hand thing and that old book too."

"Yeah, but wait till Harry shows you a recent entry," said Ron.

Harry flicked to the last few pages of the book, then flattened the page and pointed to the section for Hermione to read. "There."

"10th May 1998, Orkney Red Dragon's Egg, confiscated from...Malfoy Manor," Hermione read aloud. "Oh! In a way that shouldn't surprise me either. I suppose the Malfoys might even have thought it was their property to begin with, or got it via Borgin directly, as he knew they'd lost theirs?"

"That part is unknown, and we can't be sure it's the exact same egg," said Harry. "I thought you'd be interested, though."

"So the Ministry were doing...house raids, or whatever they call them these days, soon after the Battle, then?"

"It was best to get to them early, while they were still shaken up," said Harry. "And the obvious ones were first. I think Shacklebolt got it right."

"I don't reckon the Malfoys will dare to step a toe into the dark side for a long, long time," said Ron. "They must know they'll be watched."

"I hope they are," said Hermione. "I also hope they'll keep their noses out of the running of Hogwarts."

"They will," said Harry. "I don't think Lucius Malfoy will be allowed anywhere near a school board of governors again, not if he wants to stay out of Azkaban. The only reason he's not there now, is because he's deemed too psychologically disturbed and weak, and he's agreed to cooperate with the Ministry. Anyway, I hear you're definitely going back to Hogwarts, Hermione?"

"Yes. I want to take my final year, properly," said Hermione. "I understand why you haven't taken that route. It would be really awkward for you."

"Part of me would love to," said Harry. "Maybe have that one year at Hogwarts where nothing bad happens and it's just an ordinary school year; but I hated being the school freak before everything, and I don't fancy being stared at or having my underwear stolen, or something, now. I think I can make a difference with what I'm doing at the Ministry, in a way I couldn't at Hogwarts."

"What are your plans, Ron?" Hermione ventured to ask, wondering on the response.

"I...I'm going back to Hogwarts," replied Ron.

"REALLY?" The exclamation had come from Harry, not Hermione; the dark-haired man had got there first.

"Well, maybe I'd like to have a normal year too," said a very defensive Ron.

"That's wonderful," said Hermione, with genuine enthusiasm.

"Why do _you_ care, anyway?" Ron said, rather hurt. "You'll be tucked away somewhere with my blasted sister most of the time."

"Ron, I _do _care, despite what you think," said Hermione. "And I _do _think it's great that you'll be back there too."

"Do we know what Luna's doing about school?" asked Harry, hoping to defuse any potential prickly moments between his two best friends.

"I haven't seen or heard from her since after the Battle," said Hermione.

"No idea," said Ron. "I expect she's off somewhere searching for the lesser-horned red-toed nargle."

Harry looked at Hermione, then at Ron and suddenly all three of them burst out laughing. In this moment, they all felt like it was old times again, where the slightest of bickering had turned into giggles.

"Perhaps I'll send an owl to her and find out," said Hermione.

"I think that's what I'll miss," said Harry. "The old faces; Neville, Dean, Seamus and all that lot. They weren't a bad bunch."

"You won't miss getting homework, or buggering up a potion," said Ron.

"Ahh, was _that_ why you were reading that book yesterday?" said a grinning Hermione to Ron.

"What are you? The Hogwarts police?! Shit, can't a bloke read a book in private?!" said an exasperated Ron.

"I wasn't aware reading a potions book required privacy?" questioned Hermione.

"No, that's reserved for your _other _books, isn't it, Ron?" said Harry playfully.

"That's right, gang up on me," said Ron, but only half meaning it; he actually even gave a small grin to Hermione. They then talked about some of their memories and the funny moments from their early years at Hogwarts.

After a while, when Ron really didn't want to go back to talking about him puking up slugs, for a second time, despite Harry and Hermione seeming to be even more entertained by it on a second helping, he asked, "Anyway, where's that stupid sister of mine?"

Hermione gave Ron a piercing look that said 'watch it; I'm only giving you so much slack'. "She was taking the last crate out to the shed."

"That was ages ago," said Ron.

Hermione looked around and saw the kitchen was empty. "Where did the others go?"

"I saw them go upstairs a few minutes ago. Bill and Fleur wanted some help moving some items, and they'd found some things of our aunt's in the tiny attic room they wanted Mum and Dad to look through." said Ron.

"And Ginny wasn't with them?" asked Hermione.

"Nope, I didn't see her," said Ron.

Standing up, Hermione walked to the kitchen and saw there were no other crates of plants and no sign of anyone near the door either. She walked out of the door, and scanned the garden with her eyes, wondering if Ginny had got an urge to actually plant some of the older plants that were ready to be moved; as unlikely as that was, Hermione still considered it, especially after her weird dream. Not seeing any sign of Ginny in the garden, she looked over to the shed and saw that the door was open ajar, and thought she must still be in there for some reason. Hermione walked over to the shed, casting her gaze beyond the garden in case her girlfriend had taken a little walk. She reached her hand out to touch the door handle to pull the door open fully.

"Ginny? What are you doing...in...here?" Hermione had stopped in the doorway of the shed, looking in, to discover that several of the crates of plants, they had so carefully moved, were strewn across the floor, upturned.

"Ginny? Are you here?" Hermione called as she slowly walked forward. _Is she angry or upset about something, and thrown a wobbly? _she thought, thinking that the redhead might be out of sight behind one of the benches. However, Hermione had begun to feel something as soon as she'd opened the shed door...fear.

She looked around the shed, and down at the floor; it was then she saw large footprints and only a couple of smaller ones in the scattered mess of soil, and there was a line marked in that dirt along the side of one of the work benches, which stopped and went no further. Trying to keep calm, Hermione looked around from where the line and footprints stopped. _It...it looks like the mark made if you dragged something...or someone, _she thought. _Nooo...Ginny! How? Who?_

Hermione looked around her again for any clue as to what had happened, or for any sign to help, and it was then she noticed a piece of paper on the work bench. She picked it up and soon discovered that it didn't contain gardening tips but had a very rough handwritten message:

_I wanted the dog, but the puppy bitch will do nicely, for now. _

"What? What the...?" Hermione didn't have a clue what the note meant, only that she guessed the 'puppy bitch' was supposedly Ginny.

Once more she looked around the shed, slowly, then suddenly broke into a sprint towards the house, blundering through the kitchen door. "Ginny's gone!" she shouted, out of breath. "She's...gone!" Hermione looked towards where Harry and Ron were in the adjacent sitting room, but she couldn't see them clearly; everything was blurred and she realized her eyes were full of tears, which she was fighting to see past.

"Hermione?" Harry came rushing to her. "What's wrong?"

"Ginny...she's gone...I...I think...someone's taken her."

"WHAT?!" That worried reaction had come from Ron.

"There...there looks like there was a struggle...in the shed...and I...f…found this," said a very nearly shaking Hermione, as she handed the note to Harry, and felt her legs give way as she fell to her knees on the floor.

Fleur came down the stairs. "I thought I heard raised...voi...ces?!" she said, then abruptly halted when she saw Hermione, and Harry with his arm around her shoulders, trying to console her. "What's going on?"

"Ginny's been...I think...kidnapped," said Harry, handing the note to Fleur. "Who the hell would do this?"

"BILL?" shouted Fleur, after she read the note. "BILL, something's happened. Get down here NOW!"

Predictably, the cacophony brought not only Bill down the stairs, but his parents too. "What is...it?" Bill also stopped dead, when he saw the scene before him.

Harry repeated what Hermione had told him and the handwritten note was passed around. Hermione herself had tears streaming down her face, but she was silent and almost in a catatonic state, willing herself to be strong and to try to get some self-control, knowing currently, she would be no good to anyone and least of all to Ginny. _Think what I've faced in the past year, _she thought, _think what _WE'VE_ faced. Oh god, Ginny! No, no...I need to be strong, I need to be able to act...calm...calm...I can bloody do this...calm..._

Mrs. Weasley fought back her own tears from the shock and implications, but decided to put her efforts into comforting Hermione instead, helping her to a chair and sitting next to her, holding her hand.

The brunette had been searching for cold calmness and as she controlled her breathing, she felt it was near to her grasp. _Who would kidnap Ginny? s_he thought, trying desperately to be methodical, _Why would she be called the 'puppy bitch'? Unless...oh...OH! Shit..._

"It's me," said Bill.

"What?" said Mrs. Weasley.

"I'm the dog," said Bill in an even tone. "If whomsoever it is calls Ginny...well, _that, _then I'm the dog. So it narrows it down to Voldemort's followers and specifically..."

"Werewolves," said Hermione, surprising everyone when she spoke. "Greyback."

"But he was knocked out in the Battle?! He was rounded up; we saw him tied up outside the Great Hall!" said Ron, emphatically. "He's in Azkaban by now...isn't he?" He directed the last bit to his father, Harry and Bill, due to their positions in the Ministry.

"Not exactly," said Harry.

"It's an unknown thing," said Mr. Weasley, stoically fighting off tears of worry himself.

"Greyback hasn't been logged amongst the werewolves we've sent to Azkaban. So many people saw him knocked out and lying on the floor, before all hell broke loose again, that we assumed he perished. There...there were a few bodies which were beyond definite identification and two of those were werewolves," said Bill. "One of which was found outside the Great Hall, so it was _assumed _to be Greyback, as that's where most people last saw him, but it couldn't be a positive ID."

"Why does he want _you_, Bill?" asked Ron.

"Because he never...," Bill began.

"He didn't get to finish what he started," said Hermione, now in an icy calm voice. "Greyback probably either tracked Bill here, or found out where he lived, as he's been marked. I've read about such things, but I never thought it would happen. Why Ginny, though?" She dropped her head in her hands. "Where did he take her?"

"I can answer why," said Mr. Weasley. "Greyback came here for Bill, and not to leave empty handed he knows it's a sure way to get to Bill, by taking his sister. He'd have taken whichever one of us happened to have been there; he might even consider it a...a good bit of...sport."

Bill, Mr. Weasley, Harry, Ron and Fleur went out to the shed to the scene of the crime, while Mrs. Weasley stayed with Hermione. Not many words were spoken between the women, just a silence of worry tinged with a determination to find Ginny and make Greyback pay, painfully, if they had any choice in it. The others came back again and Bill confirmed that it was Greyback.

"I still don't know how you can be so sure it's him?" said Ron.

Once more, Hermione answered the question. "Bill can smell him."

"What?" said Ron, turning his head to stare at his brother.

"It's true, I can smell him," admitted Bill. "Remus Lupin told me that you can always smell other werewolves, and in particular the werewolf that attacked you, or in Remus's case, turned him. I wasn't turned, but I had enough to be slightly altered and to acquire some of the werewolf characteristics. Rare steaks are one part, smelling my...for want of a better word...sire, is another part of it, even though I wasn't fully, well, sired."

"Bill...," began Harry. "Don't take this the wrong way...but...could you track him? Can you detect him enough to track him?"

"He Disapparated from the shed," said Bill. "I've no idea where to start."

"Bill..." This time it was Hermione. "Please don't take offence, but can you...well, smell the scents of the rest of us? If you really tried?"

Fleur held her husband's hand tightly; she had known, more than most, about what Bill Weasley could and couldn't do since his wounding. When he swallowed hard but didn't immediately answer, she replied for him. "Yes, he can." She looked at him apologetically before adding, "However, he can't track thin air, even a full werewolf can't do that."

"I might be able to help with that...possibly," said Harry tentatively, as the rest of the room looked at him.

"How?" asked Mr. Weasley.

"As you and Mrs. Weasley know, Remus tried to make contact with other werewolves a long time before the Battle. I suspect he was doing things for the Order in that regard for more than a couple of years. Anyway, he wrote reports or at least gave reports to..._someone_...and I think that would give us some places to try; places that Greyback or other werewolves frequented." Harry stopped, before going on. "He would have kept written things somewhere safe."

"Great, we've got to find some bloody papers, before we can even start looking for Ginny," said an agitated Ron.

"It might speed things up if we spoke to Dumbledore," said Harry. "I think he's the only person who would know everything that Remus might have reported; he might even know where any written evidence is."

"It's a start," said Hermione, as she wiped her eyes, liking the fact she had something to work on, never liking to feel helpless or hopeless. "We can use the portrait in my house at Godric's Hollow. Are we all going?"

"I think that might be too much even for Dumbledore," said Mr. Weasley. "Harry, you go with Hermione; he might even say more to you two than to anyone else."

"I'm going too," said Ron.

Hermione looked at Ron and saw the familiar Weasley stubborn determination in the set of his jaw. It made her think of times past, when it had always been the three of them working out problems like this. She was too tired and bothered to waste time arguing about whether Ron should go with them or not.

"Okay, you three try and talk to Dumbledore and then come back here to report," said Bill, trying to think in a professional manner as if doing work at the Ministry. "We can't do much more than twiddle our thumbs here, but at least it's a start."

Hermione led Harry and Ron out of Shell Cottage. "Neither of you have been to the house, so it might be better if I Side-Along Apparated you, to avoid Humphrey."

"Humphrey?" asked Ron.

"My obstinate talking door knocker," said Hermione. "Anyway, I can take you to the back garden."

"No problem," said Harry, with Ron nodding agreement. They each held Hermione's hand as she Disapparated to her house. There wasn't much talk when they arrived, until they were inside the house itself.

"This is where you stayed a lot, back in time?" asked Harry.

"Yes. It was the one safe place we had," Hermione replied.

"It's a lot more homely than Grimmauld Place," observed Harry, as Hermione led them through to the hallway and began climbing the stairs. "I've thought of ways to make that house warmer, but nothing seems to stop it looking dull and gloomy."

"Well, perhaps if you got rid of those disgusting elf heads it might help?!" suggested Ron, as they reached the landing.

"I can't," answered Harry. "Firstly, I think Kreacher would go all weird with me again, because they're probably his ancestors, and secondly, I can't actually move them...neither physically nor magically; they're stuck there."

"That's unfortunate," said Hermione, as they entered the third bedroom.

"Unfortunate?" said Ron. "I'd like to be unfortunate enough to be left a house, dead elf heads or no dead elf heads!"

Although there were more pressing issues at the forefront of Hermione's mind, she did have a brief thought on houses. _Harry got Grimmauld Place and I get Dumbledore's house; I can imagine Ron is a bit narked by that. Nothing I can do about it, and it's hardly a big issue at the moment...Ginny, however, is._

Hermione walked up to the empty portrait containing the green leather chair. "Professor Dumbledore? I need to talk to you. _We_ need to talk to you, it's urgent!" she called.

Out of frame they heard a muffled, "One moment." Then shortly afterwards, Albus Dumbledore appeared. "Well, hello you three!" he said as he looked at all three of his former students in turn. "Now, you said it was urgent? It must be for all three of you to be here on a Friday night!?" He sat down on the chair.

Keeping herself together, Hermione told Professor Dumbledore about the event that had happened, which was met with great concern by their former Headmaster. Then Harry spoke, mentioning the talents Bill had inadvertently acquired from Greyback's attack and how it might be useful.

"The thing is, sir," said Harry. "We need to know where to start looking. Bill can't just put his nose to the air and find Ginny blindly. We know Remus was in contact with most of the werewolves in this country, or the main leader types. We know he must have written reports or...or maybe told you things. If we could get access to those reports, or know of the places Greyback preferred, we'd have somewhere to start."

"Remus never wrote anything down," said Dumbledore. "Not anything that would survive beyond being given to me. However, I can tell you of one or two places. Greyback apparently liked being away from people, when he wasn't attacking them, so the places might surprise you."

"At least it will be somewhere to begin our search," said Hermione.

"There are a few places I would try first," said Dumbledore. "Fountains Abbey in North Yorkshire, Castle Acre Priory in Norfolk, the ruins of the Greyfriar's friary at Dunwich in Suffolk, and the St. Peter ad Vincula chapel at the Tower of London."

"Is Greyback a bible-basher or something?" asked Ron, with a small laugh of derision.

"No," said Dumbledore. "Ruins, semi ruins and places that have hidden rooms or under chambers are something he has a lot of interest in; to keep things hidden, including himself when he requires it. He also seemed to like places of historical importance, or places of former high status."

"We'll get to work on those places straight away," said Harry.

"I truly hope you're successful. I never like to be a pessimist, but you have to know a creature such as Greyback has very little self-control over a certain amount of time; he's not a patient entity. I do not mean to panic you, but it is enough for him to have Ginny, and not...shall we say..._necessary_ to keep her alive," said Dumbledore gravely, mostly directed to Hermione.

"I know, it's crossed my mind from the moment we knew it was Greyback," said Hermione, a lot calmer than she felt. She was aware that Harry had turned to look at her in surprise. "As long as we know and _think _he has Ginny, there are no rules that say he has to keep her...," she tailed off, gathering herself before adding, "...I know he might change his mind on that and decide to...you know...instead of waiting."

"What are we standing here for?!" asked Ron, agitated. "Come on, we need to get back to Bill!"

Hermione turned to Dumbledore, "Thank you."

"I hope I've been of help, I know how dear she is to you," he said with the slightest of twinkles in his eyes and Hermione actually thought he was going to wink; his expression said he knew about her relationship with Ginny; he quickly added, "...how dear she is to all of you, in fact. Let me know how it goes and if you think I can be of help again, don't hesitate to call on me." He gave an encouraging smile and walked out of his portrait.

"Let's get back," said Ron.

Still trying to process everything, Hermione turned on Ron. "What is it with you?!" she asked. "It wasn't many weeks ago you wished Ginny dead, however unintentional you meant it. You can't stand to be in the same room as us most of the time, yet you're charging around now trying to _save_ her?!"

The red-haired man was silent for a moment, as he stared at Hermione. "This is different. She's my sister and she's in trouble. No, she might not be my favourite person these days, but I think something like this is beyond arguments over who's going out with whom. If anything happens to her, it will break Mum and Dad. I don't think they could take another death so soon after Fred." He paused. "You might not want me here, but tough, I'm here and I'm going to help find her...OKAY?!"

"Ron...I'm...," Hermione began, taken aback at Ron's words and how they made her feel. "I'm sorry...and...and I'm glad you're here."

Ron shrugged his shoulders in a slightly awkward manner, as if to say 'no big deal', even when it was. "We need to get working on those locations, and soon," he said, as he walked out of the bedroom, expecting the other two to follow him.

Harry looked to Hermione and gave the faintest shake of his head in confusion, at the whole situation and Ron's statement, before he and the brunette walked out of the door. They all stood in the back garden and got themselves back to Shell Cottage, ready to start their search with the help of Bill's werewolf talents.

XXXXXXXXXX

Ginny stirred awake, to feel her jaw and face aching badly; she put a hand to where it hurt and could feel some swelling; she was also aware of being on a stone surface and with very little light. She couldn't see anyone moving near to her, or hear breathing yet. She slowly moved to sit up and gradually moved a hand to her pocket for her wand, but it wasn't there. She checked her sleeves and they were also empty. _Bollocks! _she thought, _No wand! _

In mere seconds it all came back to her, as to why she was in this unknown place. She remembered taking the last crate of plants over to Bill's shed; she had placed them on the end of the bench and had turned to leave by the door, when something grabbed her from behind and a large hand had clamped over her face, to stop her shouting or screaming out. She'd struggled, and not being able to move her arms to get her wand, she'd reverted to kicking back at her attacker; she'd tried to get some leverage to use an elbow and even attempted to stamp on the large booted feet near to hers. All was to no avail, as she couldn't get any power to her movements. The only results had been sending some of the crates of plants flying off the benches. The more she struggled the tighter and more painfully she was held, and then she felt her wand being taken from her pocket.

"Hold still, bitch!" a deep, guttural voice had said. "Where is he?"

"Who?" Ginny managed to utter.

"The ugly scarred one."

_He wants Bill? _thought Ginny. _Why? _"Don't know...what you're talking about..." she managed to mumble around the hand over her face.

"Like shit you don't?!" the man had almost growled. "No matter, you'll do for starters...even better than starters! I'm going to leave a note for 'Ugly', if you make so much as a sound or a movement, I'll kill you where you stand...got it?"

Ginny nodded, her heart racing, not knowing what to do or how to alert everyone in the house. One of the hands holding her dropped away as the man wrote on a scrap of paper. It was then she glanced and saw more of her attacker. _Greyback!? Fucking hell! _The recognition had made her automatically move a touch, as if to get away, but Greyback noticed it. _Shit, he's going to kill me! _thought Ginny, rooted to the spot.

"What did I tell you?" growled Greyback, before he punched her and knocked her out.

Having been knocked out, Ginny had no way to know that when her vision blurred to black, that it wasn't her very last breath. Sitting on a cold stone floor now, proved to her that she was still alive, but she had no idea where. She dared to try and stand, wondering if she was alone and if she could only get out into the open, she might find safety. Her eyes were adjusting to the gloom and she was aware of stone walls, and bits of stone here and there, but there were no obvious openings of light for somewhere she could aim for. The place reminded her of the churches she'd seen, or dreamed of; she was sure she saw tomb-like structures just out of the light. She soon realized that the little light there was in this place, came from a rush light, the flame very weak and spluttering in an apparent draught.

"Where do you think you're going?" said the familiar voice of Greyback. The werewolf had been in the shadows out of her sight, but watching his captive all the same.

"I...I..." Ginny couldn't think of anything else to say.

Greyback walked over to her, and put his face close up to hers. "You're not going anywhere, so sit down!" He pushed down on her shoulders.

The redhead sat down on the ground again with a slight thump; several thoughts came rushing through her head and none of them were helpful. A lot of her thoughts centred on Hermione and she knew it wasn't going to help and only make her more afraid and miserable, so she tried to find that character within herself that she'd had to draw on when looking for Hermione in 1943.

"You...you want my brother, Bill, don't you?" she asked, wanting to confirm what she thought she knew. _If I can get some information, _any _information, _she thought, _it might help later._

"Bill Weasley? Yeah, that's the one I want," sneered Greyback.

"O...okay, if it's him you want, you're using me as bait," said Ginny. Greyback remained with a sneering expression. "What...what's the use of me being bait, if I'm hidden somewhere? Wouldn't it be better to...to arrange a place for him to find me? Or make a swap?"

"Now, who's a clever girl?!" said the werewolf. "The thing is," he said, as he moved his face close to hers again, "...I might like you for myself." He took a deep sniff. "You smell good."

"I'm no use dead," Ginny offered. She'd been able to smell him too, without even trying. Some of the scent she detected hinted at what he'd been eating. _At least one of us smells good, _she thought with a little humour, _because you, matey, smell bloody terrible._

"As long as they _think _I'm holding you, it doesn't matter if you're alive or not," Greyback gave the smallest of laughs.

_Brilliant! _thought Ginny sarcastically, _this doesn't sound like it's going to have a good ending for anyone. _"What if no one understood your message, or knows it's you? Then no one will know what to do or that you're the one behind it?"

"Your brother will know. Even if he might refuse to admit _how_ he knows, he'll know."

Before Ginny could think of anything else to say, she heard footsteps and then a rustling noise, before a voice surprised her. "I think they know," said a male voice.

"You _think?_" snarled Greyback.

"I'm _sure_ they know," said the second male voice. "You've caused quite an upset there. Like an army of the lost!" The man giggled.

"Good. I need to go out for a short time to check on some things. You stay here and watch her," said Greyback. "And I mean _watch_ her, because if she escapes you're a dead wolfie. And it won't be instant death...I'll make it especially slow for you."

"You're the boss," said the second male, who Ginny could now see as he stepped into the dull light. He was much smaller than Greyback and understandably seemed to cower in the big werewolf's presence.

"That's right, I _AM _the boss. She's mine, got it!? You don't lay a finger on her!" said Greyback. "If you so much as lick her, I'll know!" he threatened the man, before he walked off into the shadows and his footsteps faded, probably Disapparating for all the good that knowledge did for Ginny.

"Are you like him, then?" asked Ginny. "A werewolf?" _I know he is, but it doesn't hurt to try some pathetic small talk, _she thought.

"I...I shouldn't be talking to you," said the man.

"He said not to lick me, he didn't say anything about not talking to me," said Ginny. "Are you a werewolf...like Greyback, though?"

"Sort of," replied the man. "We've all tried to be like him...such power to be half werewolf and half human, _all_ the time. Such control."

_Such ugliness! _thought Ginny _and yet, Greyback has the nerve to call Bill ugly!?_. "Can you tell me where I am?" she asked.

"No. I can't tell you that."

"Am I around or near an old church?"

"In a manner of speaking," said the man, cryptically.

_Well that narrows it down! _thought an ironic Ginny. _If Hermione and the others try searching every old religious building in the United Kingdom, I might be found before my thirtieth birthday. AND that's if they know to look in church type buildings in the first place!? Shit, I'll be happy to reach my seventeenth birthday!_

**A/N: As always with my drivel, everything has a reason. Hermione's dream in the previous chapter had a very subtle clue to this chapter; she saw Ginny planting wolfsbane and lycanthus flowers. Wolfsbane, lycanthus...lycanthropy...werewolf. All right, maybe that was too Miss Marple :D, I had fun with it, though. It was interesting how many of you considered Ron as a possible 'issue' with potions in the shed; that was one of my playful red herrings. As much as I don't like Ron, I did want a little bit of nostalgic "Trio" action, and something that would bring them back together...only in the 'friend' sense though. Hopefully I won't keep you waiting too long for ch.81.**


	81. The Cat and the Hare

**A/N: I've finally got this ready. My concentration has been shot through this week, as I expected, so there may still be the odd mistake/typo. If you notice anything glaringly obvious give me a nudge. :) I'll try to get chapter 82 ready for next week, but again there might be a little delay. As it happens these final chapters are longer than the usual ones, so take a bit longer to go through anyway.**

**I've altered a little bit of fact here, to suit my needs. I'll explain at the end of the chapter.**

81: The Cat and the Hare

Harry, Hermione and Ron had relayed to Bill and the others at Shell Cottage, everything that Dumbledore had said. Initially they considered splitting up into small groups to search the places Dumbledore had mentioned simultaneously, until Fleur pointed out that if Ginny was well hidden only Bill would know if both she and Greyback had been there and that it would be pointless for anyone else to search.

Harry said that whatever they decided, it was only right that Hermione go with Bill. After a little deliberation it was agreed that Fleur would stay at Shell Cottage for any news or possible incidents there; Mrs. Weasley was going back to the Burrow for the same reasons. Mr. Weasley was going to the Ministry, to arrange some available back-up and be there in case Greyback had any plans for that place too; he was also going to get someone to patrol Godric's Hollow and around Hermione's house there. They sent a message to George to stay at his shop, on the off chance that Ginny had got away and went to him, or in case some offer or note was passed to him there. A message had been sent to Percy and he was going to go to Grimmauld Place and keep an eye on the area around the house there.

This left Bill, Hermione, Harry and Ron to search the four locations they'd been given. With night falling and even the British summer sky darkening, it was hoped that their task would be slightly easier, from the point of view of not being easily seen, and any visitors to those places would be gone home by then.

"Let's start at the place in Yorkshire first," said Bill. "As it's the furthest away from here."

"Fine by us," said Harry, looking to Ron and Hermione, who nodded in agreement.

They were about to walk to the door when Fleur stopped them. "Wait!" she said. "I'll be right back."

"She isn't going to go all mumsy and insist on coats or something, is she?" groaned Ron.

"I have no idea," said Bill.

Moments later Fleur appeared again and put her hand out to Hermione. "I think you might need this," she said, as she passed over the jewelled silver dagger. She kissed Bill, looked him in the eye and said, "You take care, William Weasley!" She would have liked to have gone with them, but she knew someone had to keep watch at Shell Cottage and as Bill _had _to go, it only really left herself to stay there.

Hermione had nearly forgotten about the dagger, but now she saw it again she was imagining sheathing the blade into a new scabbard; a Greyback chest-shaped scabbard. A couple of years ago she would have been horrified and flinched at the thought of killing something that had human or magical blood, but Greyback was a different proposition, and she couldn't even be shocked at herself for visualizing finishing off the beast, if it meant getting Ginny back.

For a moment Hermione was unsure how to carry the dagger; if she placed it in her beaded bag it wouldn't be easy to access at short notice; she couldn't put it in her waistband because it would be uncomfortable and obvious that she carried a weapon. _My pocket is nowhere near deep enough, _she thought, _unless..._

"What are you thinking about, Hermione?" asked Harry, wondering why his friend hadn't moved to follow Bill and Ron out of the door. "Is something wrong?"

"Hmm? Oh, sorry, Harry, I was just thinking about this dagger, I just need to...," said Hermione as she pointed her wand at her trouser pocket, and enchanted it to take the length of the weapon, and placed the dagger into the pocket. "I needed to think of where to put the thing, so I can get to it easily. All done, let's go." A last smile and a little wave to Fleur, and she and Harry walked out of the door.

They all arrived on the outskirts of the Fountains Abbey ruins. In the darkening night, the huge ruined stone arches cast strange shadows, making the ruins seem to lengthen and loom over them all. Taking care to listen and look for anyone in the near vicinity, they edged closer towards some of the bigger parts of the ruin, to what looked like the remains of the nave of the Abbey's church.

Bill stopped from time to time, and none of the others had to ask why; it was for him to sniff the air and hone what werewolf talent he had. A couple of minutes later they moved into another part of the Abbey, to an area that might have been the Refectory or a large Chapter House and they then stopped again. Bill walked into a shaded corner where the walls were more complete, and where a person could easily imagine the grandeur of how the rest of the place looked when it was a thriving religious house.

Ron had followed his brother. "So...er...do you detect him, or Ginny?"

"Greyback was here, that I can tell. It's pretty strong, so he's been here a lot," said Bill, not as self-consciously as he thought he'd be once his secret talent was revealed. "I haven't sensed Ginny at all, though."

"This is such a huge place," said Ron. "To think it was just left?!"

"It wasn't really just left," said Hermione, as she and Harry joined the other two. "It was part of the Dissolution of the Monasteries in the 1530s. They were often burned and knocked down so they couldn't be used again; time and the weather have done the rest. Some of the masonry was probably taken and used in other high status buildings in the area at the time and in the years that followed."

Ron gave Harry a look, which he'd expressed many times over the years, when Hermione had shared some obscure knowledge. It was mostly a raised eyebrow that said the unspoken sentence of: 'Blimey, she's been eating library books for breakfast, again!'

The four of them moved into other parts of the Abbey, with Bill detecting traces of Greyback in most of the sheltered areas. They came to a small bridge, which spanned what might once have been a stream and connected another part of the Abbey. The arches under the bridge were all overgrown, and Hermione carefully walked down the slope of the bank there and looked to see if she could detect any beaten back foliage, for a sign of someone having been there recently. Bill joined her, to say Greyback hadn't actually been there, but neither had anyone else.

Hermione could feel impatience brewing inside her, mixed with worry, despair and a few other troubling emotions. _This is how she must have felt when she looked for me, _she thought, _at least _I _roughly know what's happened; _she _didn't know, yet she managed. I know we hadn't become involved then, but if she was able to do that, then I owe it to her to be as strong. I'm going to find you Ginny...I promise you; wherever you are, I promise I'll find you._

Another twenty minutes of traipsing around the vast Abbey ruins, only confirmed that Greyback had been there, but not Ginny. They detected no humans whatsoever; muggle nor magical. All four of them had hoped that they would stumble upon a hidden room, or a secret passage in one of the more complete walls, and find Ginny there; however, they couldn't find any trace of her here.

"She's not here," said Ron, emphatically. "You've only picked up the stench of Greyback, so she's not here, is she?"

"I'd have to agree with you," said Bill. "I've pick up a few scents of what are most likely other werewolves, or visitors to the Abbey, but not Ginny. There are no scents of anyone that I know...thankfully."

"I think we must have looked at nearly everywhere in the Abbey," said Hermione. "I don't think we could have missed anything."

"I'm sure I would have picked something up if Ginny had been or was...here," Bill said; he'd given a pause between words as a thought came to him. "To see what is hidden..."

"What are you thinking?" asked Harry.

Bill turned to the only female in the group. "Hermione, didn't you tell Fleur and me, that when you went looking for Hepzibah Smith that you performed a charm on a map which turned it into something similar to Harry's Marauder's Map?"

"Yes, at Welches Dam," replied Hermione. "We wanted to know which direction we were facing to know with road to take to the woman's house."

"Do you have a map of this area?" asked Bill, and when Hermione nodded he added, "Do you think you could try the charm on it, to check if we've missed Ginny?"

"I can try," said Hermione. She brought out her beaded bag and rummaged in it for her maps, with a positive feeling, wondering if they would now have an additional item to help them find Ginny faster.

Harry lit the tip of his wand to help Hermione, as she shuffled through a handful of Ordnance Survey maps, until she found the right one which covered the area containing Fountains Abbey. She opened up the map and folded it to the section they needed and with her own wand poised, she said, "_Homenum Revelio on Map!"_

Hermione studied the map, with the other three all peering at the paper too. Nothing appeared to have happened to the map, and it remained the same document it had been to begin with. "Nothing's happened," said Hermione. "I don't know why that is."

She tried the spell again, and this time a small dot marked with 'Hermione' appeared, but no one else was identified on it. For a third time she tried the charm on the map and it still showed nothing more than the contours and features of the land and her solitary named dot.

"Why isn't it working?" asked Ron, voicing what the other three were thinking.

"I'm not sure," said Hermione. "It's the same charm I used when it worked before, and back then it named all the people in their houses and showed us that Hepzibah was at home."

"Well, it was only a thought," said Bill. "We'll manage."

"Hmm, I wonder if it's because in Welches Dam, Ginny and I _knew _where we were going and whom we were trying to find, we just needed confirmation. Where as here, I've never been to any of the places we'll be searching and we don't really know what to expect."

"That doesn't explain how the Marauder's Map works," said Harry, equally thoughtful.

"I think it does," said Hermione. "Your Map was designed for someone at Hogwarts to use _in_ Hogwarts. It was for someone who knew the place they wanted to go, but wanted to take a clear path to avoid certain areas or people. It never worked beyond Hogwarts."

"I think there could be something in that," said Bill. "It makes a certain sort of sense."

"_Pffft!_" Ron snorted, as if to say it only made sense to Bill and Hermione.

"Nevermind," said Bill. "We'll move on, and continue with how we searched this place."

"Where are we headed next?" asked Harry. "Castle Acre, Dunwich or London?"

Hermione was the one to answer. "Dunwich."

The other three looked at her. "Any particular reason?" asked Bill.

"When we were 'travelling' we had this book we read, to use up time, and it mentioned Dunwich," explained Hermione. "I don't know, maybe I'm looking for a connection that isn't there..."

"We'll go to Dunwich, then," said Bill. "It's as good a reason to choose it next as any."

They all Dispparated to their chosen destination on the Suffolk coast and the ruins of the friary there. All four of them arrived at the same time at the very edge of the ruins, which were much smaller and more sparse than Fountains Abbey had been. None of the ruins had much structure left; there were hardly any walls remaining which would block a brisk breeze, let alone be suitable to hide someone or something, and it didn't look like the kind of place anyone would want to use, unless it was just a stopping off point.

Although getting close to midnight, the sky wasn't completely black, and was lit by a quarter of moon and some stars. The smell of the sea was strong, and if one listened it could be heard gently splashing onto the stony shingle beaches a good quaffle's throw away. Bill immediately set to work and walked to a sheltered area of the ruin, to see if he detected any sign of Greyback or Ginny.

Hermione stood still and looked in the direction of what she knew to be east, wondering if she would hear those ghostly bells of the churches lost to the sea over the centuries. She half-smiled, thinking back to the times she and Ginny had read pieces out of that Muggle Seaside Towns book; and here she was, in the place they had read about and would probably both admit to having slight goosebumps about, despite how calm they were about hauntings or other phenomena, normally.

Feeling very down, wishing that their first location had been successful and not hearing anything from Bill about this friary yet, Hermione sighed and put her hands in her pockets. Her left hand felt the hilt of the dagger, and her mind immediately went back, unbidden, to the time she and Ginny had bought it from Borgin. She was suddenly hit with a certainty, from where it came she didn't know, but she _knew_ where Ginny was, almost as if her red-haired girlfriend had walked up behind her and whispered the location in her ear, and she could feel Ginny's breath upon her skin and her presence. It made Hermione want to turn around and check whether Ginny had somehow managed to escape and was really behind her; the whole sensation made her want to weep; weep with desperation, yearning and also something else, which she couldn't define.

Disappointed to find she was alone, although not altogether surprised, Hermione said to the others, in a firm certain voice, "She's at that chapel at the Tower of London!"

"WHAT?!" said Harry, in slight disbelief. He was the only one of the three nearest to her; the others had still heard her, however. "Why do you say that?"

"I can't explain it, she's there in that chapel...I just know it!" said Hermione, wiping a tear away from her cheek fiercely, not knowing why she had shed it then. "It doesn't look like she's here; there's no obvious hiding place, unless there's a hidden chamber underground, but Bill hasn't said anything yet."

"How do you know she's in London, anyway? We've hardly been here a few minutes, what if we miss something here, or at least a clue? Besides weren't you all sure she was _here _a little while ago?" said Ron sceptically, who had made his way back to them with Bill, having heard them talk.

"I can't explain it..."

"Well, Bill's doing most of the work here, what do you think?" Ron asked his brother. "Surely it would be better to check out this place properly first?"

Bill had studied Hermione closely. "If Hermione thinks Ginny's in London, then we'll go there," he said. "We can easily come back this way if not, or go on to Castle Acre."

"There might be a problem," said Hermione.

"Such as?" asked Ron.

"We can't just walk through the gates at the Tower of London, nor appear in the middle of the place and wander into the chapel, especially at this time. It's guarded and those Beefeater Yeoman Warders aren't only there for tourists, they do actually guard the place, as well as there being an army presence there."

"Can we Apparate directly into the chapel?" asked Harry.

"There might be someone on guard inside or just outside," answered Hermione. "I hate to say it, but...we might have to use..."

"The _Imperius _curse," said Bill, calmly. "Yeah, it might be the only option. Only to put whomsoever it is to sleep, or the standard procedure of making a muggle forget that they saw anything."

"I can do that," said Hermione, with little uncertainty. "I've done something similar."

"Right, so we'll aim for directly inside that chapel...all agreed?" asked Bill.

Everyone agreed, so they decided to walk away from the ruins of the Dunwich friary, before Disapparating to London.

XXXXXXXXXX

Ginny felt tired, partly due to trying to talk with the rather intellectually challenged man set to guard her. The way the man kept putting in glorious tributes to Greyback and how wonderful the big werewolf was, Ginny felt like saying 'Why don't you marry him?!'

"What time is it?" asked Ginny, wondering if her tiredness was more due to the time than her situation, and not being completely recovered from Australia.

The man looked to his wrist, tilting the watch face to the feeble light. "About midnight. Why? Need to be somewhere?" he sniggered, slightly.

"No reason, I was feeling a little sleepy, that's all," she replied.

"Past your bed time, is it?"

"No. I've been out of the country for a few days and I'm having trouble adjusting to the time. I think it's caught up with me now," said Ginny, while not going as far to say where she'd gone, with whom and why.

"That's bad luck, to come back from your hols and get kidnapped, isn't it?"

"Luck? I'm not sure luck comes into it when one person desires to take a course of action and you get caught up in it." _Shit! I'm sounding like Hermione! _Ginny thought, amused.

The man was silent; Ginny suspected that her last sentence had gone completely over his head. She leaned back against the cold stone wall, and rested her head against it. However hard she'd tried to avoid it, thoughts of Hermione had come through to the front of her mind. _What I wouldn't give, to be in her arms, in our bed at Godric's Hollow, _she thought, _or in her arms anywhere. _

Ginny's thoughts briefly went through their recent weeks together, going back to the time they'd been time-travelling and facing unknown dangers and complications. A thought about her enchanted bag came to her, and thinking it was probably taken along with her wand, she didn't expect to find anything, when she smoothed a hand over her pocket. She felt a lump; in her current predicament she knew she would probably be disappointed to find a wad of tissues. She slowly moved a hand into her pocket and had to be very careful not to show any reaction, as her hand came into contact with the unmistakeable material of her enchanted bag. She hadn't got anything in there that was particularly useful; it mostly held clothes these days. _I suppose I could try and strangle Greyback with a bra! _she thought, wanting to laugh.

Feeling slightly chilly, now that night was well under way and the temperatures were dropping, she could almost feel a slight draught from somewhere; with the stone floor and wall, she was sitting against, feeling colder by the minute, she took a chance and pulled out the bag and opened it to look for a sweater.

"Whatcha doing?" asked her guard.

"It's a bag. I have other clothes in there."

"You shouldn't have a bag. Give it to me!"

_Think, think! _thought Ginny, _They've taken my wand and my freedom, they are NOT taking my bag too! _"Don't you think Greyback checked all my pockets and everything when he captured me? He has my wand but let me keep my bag," she said calmly, hoping that the truth she'd stretched did the trick. "It's only to carry some spare clothes with me, so I'm ready for any weather."

"I don't know..."

"Greyback already knows about it," said Ginny. "I think he might be a bit pissed off if you question him about it. It would be like questioning his intelligence. I certainly wouldn't argue with him, and I _haven't!_ That's a fast way to pain."

"It contains clothes, you say?" asked her wavering guard.

"Yes, look..," said Ginny, as she slowly pulled out a zip-up fleece sweater, and then pulled out a fold-up rain coat. "See? Just clothes."

"All right then."

Ginny folded up the rain coat again and put it back in her bag, then pulled out an ordinary sweater and put it on, before putting back the zip-up fleece. She rummaged slightly, knowing that the man watching her wouldn't be very alert to what she was doing now. As her hand fumbled through the items in the bag, she felt some books, but as it really wasn't the time or light enough to read, she left them alone. Then she felt a box; she clasped her hand around it, trying to ascertain what it was.

After a little more exploration of the box size and shape, she knew what it was. _It's the necklace of Andrasta! _she thought. She'd forgotten that she still had it in her bag and once she had identified it, her mind was taken back to the day they'd bought it, and then the moment when Hermione had asked her to wear it, saving Ginny's life and Hermione's in the same stroke; Ginny arguably saved Hermione from Bellatrix and the necklace had saved Ginny.

_I wonder..., _thought Ginny. With her hand still in her bag, she opened the box and grasped the necklace, her thumb feeling the outline of the hare pendant. She wanted to hold it, to feel it, as if it could make her feel stronger; she knew it would certainly protect her from magic as strong as the _Avada Kedavra _curse, even if it knocked her out a little. Now she was sure she wanted to wear it, as if she would feel some part of Hermione with her.

Aware that her guard, who she hadn't managed to get a name from, was still gazing in her direction, she tried to work out a way of putting on the necklace and not being seen to do so. Unfortunately the wavering weedy light from the rush light would be enough for the necklace to sparkle and there was no way her guard wouldn't notice. He might have been a little dim, but he still had eyes; he might not know the necklace had magical properties, but gold was tempting to most in his position. Ginny had to think fast, because she knew Greyback must be returning soon. The concept of how to put on the necklace unseen, consumed her thoughts.

Luckily Ginny was wearing a polo shirt that had a collar, which would be helpful if she put on the necklace, to keep it hidden. It was then she almost saw the act in her mind. She came up with an elaborate way of taking off her current sweater, exchanging it for another, and in the process of putting it on, she'd have the necklace hidden in her hands, and when she adjusted the neck of the sweater she would in fact be fastening the necklace.

She put the necklace back into the box in her bag and gave a deliberate sigh, before taking off the sweater she had so recently put on. She carefully folded it and slowly placed it into her enchanted bag, as if placing it perfectly within its confines. So far her guard said nothing and was only half paying attention to her.

Ginny made a show of supposedly rummaging in the bag, when in fact the necklace was now enclosed in her hand, and she was choosing a quarter-zip fleece sweater; she chose that one, because if her guard did see a glint, she could say it was the metal of the zip. She put her hands up the sweater, as one might normally do to don the garment, and quickly arranged the necklace at the front of the sweater neck. With one hand still up the sweater as she pulled it on, she nearly thanked Merlin out loud, when the necklace stayed in place; she'd had no plan if it had rolled or fallen out. She could just feel the gold necklace against part of her neck, hidden from view.

_Now to fasten it, _she thought. She reached back as if fiddling with a turned-in collar and found the two ends of the necklace. On her first attempt she couldn't fasten the clasp. If she had to try too many times, it might be questioned. She failed a second time, and began to get very worried; if Greyback returned and moved her, the necklace might drop through her clothing to the floor.

As she made to try a third time, Greyback returned; normally that should have stopped her movement and made her freeze, but she used the fraction of time it took for him to make initial conversation with the other man, to take a longer go at fastening the necklace. She felt the clasp leave her fingers, and hoped she'd been successful. _Only one way to find out, _she thought, continuing to keep her eye on the werewolves. Appearing to still be fiddling with her sweater collar, Ginny gently tugged the necklace and she felt it pull at the back of her neck; she'd fastened it. Carefully she made sure it dropped down inside of her polo shirt collar.

When she felt the cold gold of the hare pendant touch the skin just below the base of her throat, she thought of Hermione. The feeling for her girlfriend was so strong when she felt the hare pendant against her, that she was amazed she hadn't called out; it was like she could feel Hermione's lips against her skin where the pendant touched, and she felt had she listened hard enough she would have heard her girlfriend whisper her name; it both comforted her and made her yearn for the brunette's presence and touch. _Maybe this will save us both again, _she thought. _I wish I had the dagger...that would have been VERY useful._ For some reason, though, even with just the necklace, she felt immeasurably stronger than before, despite her tiredness. She wondered if the act of putting on the necklace, under the noses of her captors, felt like an act of defiance, and that it was making her feel like she'd won a little victory.

Greyback came over to her. "It seems your brother is brighter than he looks."

"Oh?" questioned Ginny. _Has he guessed who has me? Does he know where I am? Don't blunder in Bill...you need to look after yourself too!_

"Yeah, him and his little troop have decided to follow his nose," said Greyback with a laugh. "He's not in the right place, nowhere near, but he's getting the idea."

"I...I still don't understand why you want him to find me? He might never find us," Ginny said, thinking fast again. "I thought werewolves hunted what they wanted, not chose to be hunted themselves?"

"Well that piece of crap they teach at Hogwarts, doesn't tell you much about werewolves. If I were to hunt your brother, it would be far too easy...where's the fun? But, setting him the task of finding me and you, that's a lot more fun," said Greyback. "Besides, the dog will be tired out by the time he does find us, then it'll be even more fun. Ohhh not for you...unless you find out you actually like the idea of the alternative; hundreds beg but few get the choice." He gave a horrible toothy grin.

"What alternative?" asked Ginny uncertainly.

"Being a werewolf," said Greyback, simply. "I've never had enough females. I could do with a bit of young blood at my side; warm my bed too."

"Hmm," said Ginny, trying to play it cool. "I'll have to think about it."

Greyback crouched next to her and moved his head nearer to hers and sniffed her. "The trouble is, you smell so good. I might not be able to control myself, once I get the taste for you."

_He might actually mean all of that, _thought Ginny, _but I suspect this is an attempt to make me feel more fear. I don't need a lot of help in that department._

"Don't worry, love," said Greyback. "I haven't decided yet." He looked at her a moment. "Where did you get the sweater?"

_Shit, _thought Ginny, _at least I have the necklace now, if he takes the bag. _"I always have a little bag with me; you must have seen it when you checked my pockets. Anyway, it holds a change of clothes," she said, as she slowly retrieved the bag from her pocket, opened it and pulled out the rain coat again and a sleeve of sweater. "See?" _I just hope his dopey friend doesn't say anything about it, _she thought.

Greyback studied her a bit longer, and oddly seemed satisfied with her explanation. "I can't do with women fussing over their clothes. You won't need so many if I turn you," he said with a grin, so close to her she could feel the heat of his rancid breath against her cheek. "Anyway, I've brought you something; can't have you wasting away...yet." He handed her an apple and strangely, a small bottle of lemonade. Ginny suspected both were stolen, but she ate the apple slowly and sipped from the lemonade.

As she sat there she felt something brush up against her, making her jump; nervously she looked into the shadows to the left and was relieved to see a cat. It came back to her and rubbed its head up against her arm.

"Hello," she said. "Where did you come from?" The cat gave a little meow, sticking its tail up in the air as she stroked his head. Her werewolf captor had heard her speak and saw the cat; as Greyback began to walk over to her, the cat hissed, the scruff of his neck fluffed up and his tail became positively fox-like.

"Get out of it!" said Greyback. "Mangy mog, sod off before I eat you!"

Ginny had had a hand on the cat and dared to pick him up and set him down the other side of her, further away from the werewolf. "Go on," she said. "Move, get out of here." The cat didn't need a second warning and sprinted away into the darkness of the chamber, in the direction of where Ginny saw both Greyback and the other man arrive and depart.

Unfortunately the cold lemonade and sitting on the cold stone floor gave Ginny the need for the toilet, and embarrassingly Greyback told her to go to the corner of the room and squat there. She was almost too embarrassed to even function, but she had no idea how long she was going to be kept here and having stomach ache from a bloated bladder wasn't a fun notion, so she got on with it. She never even considered trying to run, because she didn't really know where the way-out was, or what a possible exit might lead to, and she knew that without her wand, Greyback would get to her in a couple of strides.

_Well, he can't kill me with magic; that's a start, _thought Ginny, _If I could somehow summon Bill or Hermione and maybe half of the Ministry with them, _then _it would _really _be progress._

XXXXXXXXXX

With wands at the ready, Bill, Harry, Ron and Hermione arrived inside the St Peter ad Vincula chapel at the Tower of London. All four of them scanned the chapel for guards, be it Yeoman Warders, army personnel or security guards, but there was no one to be seen. It appeared that after a certain time, the main door was locked and it was left for the night, with nothing there to steal or interfere with. They all had their wands lit to hopefully avoid being taken unawares. Hermione looked upwards, wondering if there were CCTV cameras, but again she breathed a sigh of relief when she saw none. Even if there had been cameras and they were out of sight, she doubted if the content could ever be explained and thought the Ministry would help to iron over any issues later.

"Are you picking anything up, Bill?" asked Harry, in a quiet voice.

"Greyback's been here, but it's faint...so maybe he hasn't been here lately, or it's more masked with the volume of people that visit each day," replied Bill.

The only female amongst them felt her heart drop; Hermione had been so sure they'd find Ginny here. She walked the length of the chapel to the roped off chancel area, where the public weren't allowed to walk further. She turned to look back at the nave and then as she turned back to the chancel again she physically jumped back in shock, when a black and white cat came running at her making a yowling noise, before it stopped and hissed at her. Hermione clasped a hand to her chest, recovering from the surprise; the cat realized it was only people and went from hissing and yowling to giving a little squeaky meow, followed by a purr as it walked around Hermione's legs, rubbing its head against her ankles and occasionally sniffing her.

"What is it with you and finding bloody crazy cats?" asked Ron, as he saw what the minor commotion had been. Due to them all keeping their voices to nearly a whisper, Ron himself had sounded a bit like a cat hissing.

"Where did he come from?" asked Harry, as he too investigated what the sounds had been.

"I don't know," said Hermione. "One minute I was standing and looking at the roped off area, then back at you lot, then when I turned back again that cat was running at me yowling."

"Perhaps he came in through a window and we disturbed his nightly mouse hunt?" suggested Ron.

Harry looked around. "No windows are open...I don't think they'd leave any open in case bats or birds got in and were trapped."

Bill joined them now, having looked into the corners of the chapel's nave and at a locked solid doorway that presumably led to another part of the chapel and which looked like it had been blocked off for decades. "Where'd the cat come from?" he asked, noting the black and white feline still purring its way around Hermione's ankles.

"I'm not sure," said Hermione. "Perhaps there's a gap behind the altar area or something?"

"Well, we're not the muggle public, so I'm taking no notice of the rope or the sign," said Bill as he walked over the rope. The others joined him, with only Harry and Hermione feeling slightly criminal, when both were used to muggle rules and signs in museum-type places. They looked at the altar and the walls, and at a couple of wall coverings which covered, in all probability, very boring stonework underneath.

"There's nothing here," said Hermione. "Perhaps the cat came from a place I didn't look towards properly? Perhaps he'd been curled up and we woke him?"

"I thought we were looking for Ginny, not wondering where that bloody cat came...," Ron said in a slightly louder voice, but was quietened by his brother.

"Ssh." Bill had his eyes closed.

"What is it?" asked Ron, but Harry and Hermione also gave a 'ssh' to shut him up.

"Greyback is stronger here," said Bill. "I don't think that's particularly helpful, though."

They all walked up to the altar, as Bill tried once more to concentrate on the scents in the chapel. "Again, I think it might be harder to sense things here, because so many people have come and gone and that includes a few werewolves. I'm not talented enough with this scent thing to work out how old the scents are." He went quiet and closed his eyes, trying to focus.

Hermione stood, looking at the stonework of the walls and turned to look back at the nave; she could see the cat, sat on one of the wooden chairs, washing itself. She was about to turn back to Bill and the others again, when she felt something faintly brush around her ankle. Looking down immediately, she was more surprised to see nothing there, than she would have been to see a second cat. Staring at her feet and the stone floor where she stood, she waited to see if she felt it again. Less than a minute passed, when she felt the sensation once more, but had seen absolutely nothing to cause it. She pointed her wand to the ground around her feet and used a revealing spell; nothing happened, but yet again she felt an odd feeling of something different in the air around her ankles.

_Is it a ghost cat? _she thought laterally. _It might be...well..._

"Are you all right, Hermione?" asked Harry, having observed his friend acting slightly odd for the last few minutes.

"Come and stand here, Harry," said the brunette.

"Why?"

"I want to know if you can feel it too," said Hermione. A confused Harry stood next to her. "Keep looking at your feet and ankles and tell me if you feel something different in the air in the next few minutes."

"What am I supposed to...?" Harry felt something stir around his ankles, very faintly.

"See? You felt it," said Hermione.

Harry stood there a few moments more, when he felt it again. This time he knelt on the stone floor and got close to the ground, wondering if he could see something at that level which he couldn't see standing up. Then he saw something they _hadn't _seen before; at the bottom edge of a wall, where a wall covering hung, nearly touching the floor.

"There!" said Harry, pointing to the wall. "Bill, see what you can sense over against that wall."

Bill looked a little confused himself, but went to the place where the side wall of the chancel met the east wall of the altar. He'd hardly closed his eyes, before stating, "Greyback is very strong here, which I don't understand...unless...ewww, no."

"What?" asked Ron.

"Unless he's answered a call of nature up this corner," said Bill with distaste.

Harry walked over to Bill. "I think, and hope, it might have something to do with this...it's causing a small draught, anyway," he said, as he put a hand on the wall covering and moved it aside.

"We didn't see that before!" said Hermione, almost in a squeak as she whispered.

As they all looked on, they saw that Harry had uncovered a fairly low doorway, with stone steps leading down into deeper darkness. Bill carefully and quietly descended a couple of the worn stone steps; within seconds, he suddenly turned and walked back up to the others.

"Well, more Greyback stench?" asked Ron.

"No more than elsewhere, but it's the first time I've detected Ginny, faintly," Bill said in less than a whisper, nearly not believing his own senses, thinking it might just be his desperation to find his sister, making him _think_ he'd found her scent. "The thing is, I'm sure I heard voices, at the edge of my hearing range. Someone is down there."

Hermione wanted to sprint down the steps with her wand blazing spells everywhere, but she stopped herself, knowing that the 'charging-in approach' could cause more problems than help. "I think that's the crypt down there. So, what do we do?" she asked the others. "Any ideas for a plan of action?"

"How about this?" said Harry, as he pulled out his Invisibility Cloak from a pocket. "I'll creep down there and see the layout of the crypt and who is down there, then come back and report; we can decide what to do from there."

"Sounds good," said Hermione. "There's room for me, I'm going too."

"Hermione, I don't think it's a good idea," said Bill. "I understand, I do, but you might not think straight, depending on what you see. I can't go down there yet myself, because Greyback would smell me, he might even detect me up here. Let Harry do a quick sweep and we'll go from there, yeah?"

"Bill, I know I have to be calm about this, and I will be. BUT, if there's anything we have to act on there and then, I want to be the one to do that," said Hermione, plainly, as she pulled out the dagger Fleur had given back to her. It was then that Hermione wondered why Fleur had given the dagger to her and not to her husband; however, she didn't have time to think on it for long.

"Harry? Is there really enough room under the Cloak for two?" asked Bill.

"Yes, there is," Hermione replied for her friend. "How do you think we got his body from the Great Hall to the Trophy Room at Hogwarts...he was actually dead at the time too."

The other three looked at Hermione, unable to think of anything to say, before Harry said, "All right, Hermione's with me."

"Greyback might smell you two more and not put it down to the visitors' smells from up here. It's a shame we can't mask your scents," said Bill.

"What about the cat?" asked Hermione.

"We can't send the cat down there to report back for us," said Ron, not entirely managing to keep his voice as quiet as the others. "It's not a house-elf!"

"Don't be a pillock," said Hermione flatly, as she walked to the seat which the cat was sitting on, picked it up and walked back to the others. "What I meant was this." It was the strangest thing to see and no doubt the cat wondered what was going on, as Hermione held it up against Harry's shirt; essentially she was rubbing the cat all over Harry, who soon caught on to what his friend was trying to do. The cat had started to purr again and when Hermione put it back on the floor, it wrapped around her legs then Harry's.

Ron had been trying not to laugh, as he watched Hermione rub the cat all over Harry in various places. "I wish I had a camera," he chuckled. Hermione then picked up the cat once more, to attend to herself; she hugged it, letting its scent get onto her and allowed it to nuzzle her neck.

"What do you think, Bill?" asked Harry. "Will it help?"

"Well, I can smell a lot of cat at the moment, so I suppose it will help," said Bill, giving a grin.

Harry put on his Invisibility Cloak as Hermione stood next to him, covering them both. "Okay, we'll be back in a few minutes," he said. "We might have to descend the stairs one in front of the other. If there's any trouble, I think you'll probably hear it."

As Bill and Ron heard the faintest of shuffling noises, as the invisible Harry and Hermione walked down the dark stairwell to the crypt, they almost tried to keep their own breathing quieter, in an attempt to be more alert for sounds of trouble.

There were several steps to negotiate and in the near pitch darkness, it was difficult. Harry led the way with Hermione behind him; she had one of her hands on his shoulder, to keep them together under the Cloak. As it became more obvious that they were reaching the bottom of the stairs, they stopped and listened carefully. They thought they heard more than one voice, but they weren't completely sure.

Harry reached for Hermione's hand and they stood side by side again, and moved a couple of tentative steps into the chamber they had entered. Several yards away, they could see a faint yellowy light, as if from a candle nearing the end of its wick. Then they certainly heard the voices much more clearly, but other than a small movement in the shadows beyond, they didn't know whom they were hearing.

There were a couple of old coffins in various places and some stone tomb-like structures, and one or two small boxes made of wood and stone, which they had to walk around and between. Harry gave Hermione a gentle nudge and they moved forwards slowly, towards the source of the light. In two paces the low light finally revealed Greyback and a smaller man standing next to him, and they'd begun to talk again.

"...don't see the point?" said Greyback, in reply to something the other man had said to him.

"Well...I...that is to say...," the smaller man stumbled over his words, clearly intimidated. "I don't understand the trouble this is taking just to complete a turning; especially for one who probably hates you, and would never join your pack."

"You've never made one, have you?"

"N...n...no, I haven't had the pleasure."

"If you ever have the guts and control to do it, you'll understand why. You'll feel that desire burning inside you, and I'm not talking about kinky sexual desire...no...this is power," said Greyback. "Take the puppy," he said, pointing away from them into the shadows at their captive. "She only needed to be hit once, she knows not to try anything, because _I_ have the power and she doesn't. And I haven't even turned her yet. Once they _are _turned, they find it very hard to fight their creator. They'll moan and complain, but turn their hand against you? No!"

"Oh," replied the smaller man, before opting for a more grovelling response. "I don't think I was meant to lead. I'll leave it to true leaders like you."

"Spare me the love-fest!" growled Greyback, before the growl turned into a laugh. "You're not my type. I prefer the puppy. Now, stop talking utter bollocks and keep watch above ground for a while."

"Did you hear voices, then?" asked Ginny, unsure if she'd heard any, or whether her desperation had made her _think_ she'd heard something once or twice in recent minutes. She considered, hopefully, that there _had_ been voices and that was the reason Greyback had sent his friend above ground.

"You will from time to time," said Greyback. "Don't get excited, it ain't your brother. One or two people often come into this vicinity. There's cracks in the walls around here; it keeps it chilly and draughty and lets noises in too."

Hermione found herself gripping the dagger in her pocket, and her other hand was in a tight fist. She'd heard and recognized the woman's voice and she knew when the werewolf was referring to Ginny, but as of yet she couldn't see her. _She's alive, at least, _she thought. As the smaller man walked towards them, Harry got them to step back slowly out of the man's path, and both held their breath, hoping that Bill and Ron were alert enough to the man who would shortly be face to face with the Weasley brothers. Harry and Hermione couldn't follow yet, until they were exactly sure where everything and everyone was in the crypt.

Harry got hold of Hermione's arm and gently squeezed it, before beginning to walk a pace or two closer to the light; they tried to keep their eyes on both Greyback and the surrounding area, to find Ginny. The other man hadn't come back and they'd heard no commotion, just a scuffling sound of feet on stone steps, which clomped a couple more times then faded; it boded well for the man being dealt with by Bill and Ron. All their attention was on the werewolf before them now.

**A/N: Fountains Abbey exists and with the parts mentioned. As do the sparse ruins at Dunwich(although in a few years it's predicted they'll be taken by the sea, with the horrific coastal erosion). **

**However, with the St. Peter ad Vincula chapel at the Tower of London I've slightly invented a part of it. It does have a crypt, but not much is known about it publically, and essentially it's probably a small vault beneath the altar and chancel with no stairwell access. However I wanted more of a proper crypt, so I've turned it into a larger chamber. I've made the entrance to it concealed...but please don't go to the Tower of London and expect to see it or any wall hangings covering it. They exist in my head, not in reality. LOL :) And the reason I chose it for part of the story rather than somewhere else is because it's one of my favourite places I've ever visited, for many reasons, personal and historical.**

**The cat IS real. When I went there a few years ago, I found him on a seat asleep and had to make a fuss of it. He was a little more grumpy than how I've portrayed him here...but he is something I saw in the chapel myself. A lovely black and white mog, and no doubt there for mice and rats. :)**

**The place the gang didn't go to, Castle Acre Priory, is another favourite place of mine which I used to visit a few times a year, but I didn't use it in detail in the story as that would have been too self-indulgent. :D My current avatar is the ruined gatehouse to that priory. **


	82. Connections

**A/N: The penultimate chapter. For those interested in some bits and pieces of info, I have an A/N at the end of the chapter. It's in answer to some PMs I've had, wondering about some thought-processes for the story. **

**I managed to get this chapter ready for today, but next week there could be a day or two delay again. I'm sure there's still some mistakes I've missed, but it should be 99% typo and mistake-free etc. :)**

82: Connections

Ginny had been listening intently to the conversation between Greyback and his lackey and almost wanted to laugh at the way Greyback thought she wasn't a danger anymore. _I may not be trying a heroic attempt to attack him or flee, _she thought, _not yet, anyway, but I'm hardly subdued and harmless either. Just one chance...if I see it, I'll take it, whatever I have to do. _She was pulled out of her thoughts by a slight lumping noise, like someone banging into a door or piece of stone. Greyback was startled by it as well and walked to the edge of the light's coverage, occasionally sniffing the air.

"What was that?" Ginny asked, knowing she probably wouldn't get an answer.

Greyback didn't reply to begin with, then drew his wand and lit the tip, directing it into all corners of the crypt. Seemingly satisfied that all was as it should be, he said, "That stupid moggy jumping off something, I expect. Nothing you need worry about."

Under the Cloak, Hermione and Harry had held their breath again, as Greyback had moved the light from his wand around the chamber. Then they'd heard Ginny's voice and the exact location of it; Harry held Hermione's arm a little more firmly, to make sure she was thinking clearly and wouldn't rush out or give them away; he thought it unlikely, but it was best to be sure.

"Are you afraid my brother has found you already?" asked Ginny. "Is that why you sent that bloke to watch?"

"I'm not afraid of anything," said Greyback. "As for your brother, he has too many pieces of your puzzle to find yet. If he takes too long, I might have to leave him _actual_ pieces to find." Greyback grinned at Ginny, all his teeth glinting in the dull light. "We werewolves like to keep our places as our own, and don't like others moving in without permission, that's why he's watching," he explained.

Back under the Cloak, Hermione had tensed. Harry had come to a decision, which was to take Greyback by surprise now; it was two against one and those two being himself and Hermione; he thought it should be enough. Harry moved his head, and with his lips nearly touching Hermione's ear, he spoke in less than a whisper. "Let's take him, now." Hermione slowly moved her head in a nod. "Two steps into the shadows on the left and then I'll take the Cloak off," he added.

They slowly and carefully moved into the darker shadows of the crypt and Harry gently took off the Cloak and stuffed it into a pocket. He nudged Hermione again and whispered, "Count of five."

Hermione had her wand ready, as did Harry, as he tapped out the count on her arm. _Tap, tap, tap, tap...TAP. _They took a balancing step forward...

"_STUPEFY!_"

The spell hadn't come from either Hermione or Harry, and as Harry looked around he saw Hermione on the ground and the smaller man from earlier standing there, a couple of steps away, with his wand outstretched. "_STUPEFY!" _Harry directed at the man, and hit him clearly in the chest, dropping him to the ground.

"Harry!" shouted Ginny, when she recognized the voice; after hearing the commotion, she had stood up, to see what was happening in the dimly lit chamber, finding that Harry really _was_ there. "Greyback, HARRY! Greyback!" she called, as the big werewolf approached the scene. Ginny watched on numbly, feeling useless, as Greyback wordlessly knocked out Harry with an, as yet, unknown curse, which bizarrely threw him up and slightly forwards through the air, rather than backwards. Harry hadn't been quick enough to react, only just finishing his exchange with the other man.

Greyback turned around, looking livid, as he stalked towards Ginny. "You can shut the hell up!" He lashed out and hit her across her already swollen jaw, then made a guttural growling sound as he swiped at her with a clawed hand, not caring what he hit or where, and was annoyed that she was wearing a sweater which he'd slightly ripped, but which didn't give him easy access to her flesh, blocking the swipe.

The redhead wasn't knocked out and felt no pain, due to the fact she was furious and her anger seemed to be stronger than her fear, and she stood up straight once more. "Looks like I've been found sooner than you thought," she said, defiantly.

Unfortunately, Greyback seemed to be just as angry as she was and put his hands around her throat and began to squeeze. He was so furious at being taken by surprise, that he didn't know what to do first; whether to strangle his captive, bite and maim, or just growl.

Struggling, feeling her throat constricted, Ginny was almost wishing Greyback would try to kill her with magic, because she had a plan for that, but physical harm wasn't in her equation yet. In seconds she could almost feel Greyback's fingers and thumbs _inside_ her throat, blocking her airway. She couldn't even cough and she could feel her pulse bulging in her neck; her vision was blurring slightly now, as she slid to the floor, the werewolf nearly lying on top of her.

"_STUPEFY!" _shouted a voice.

Hermione was back on her feet, somehow, and had cast the spell at the werewolf. She wasn't thinking as clearly as she might have done, because a stronger curse would have been much more effective; it wasn't like she wanted to preserve Greyback's life or body parts; but she had seen Ginny, nearly lifeless on the ground, and it had distracted her thoughts.

Unbelievably, Greyback had reacted as if he had known someone was behind him and dodged the spell, finally letting Ginny go from his grasp. He pulled out his wand and sent some curses at Hermione; she managed to block them and move to a different place. She desperately wanted to go to Ginny and was hoping with all her heart that she hadn't arrived too late.

However, Greyback didn't get to where he was only through luck; he had a talent for survival and in his case, that meant being proactive rather than reactive. He sent a tame _Stupefy _at Hermione, expecting her to counter-curse him, which she did; as she counter-cursed, he was already sending another spell at her.

The spell that hit Hermione, took her off her feet and she landed several feet back on top of a tomb and went still. Greyback looked down at Ginny again; the redhead was unconscious or even dead; he wasn't thinking clearly enough to know which. He was still fuming with anger and at times like these the wolf took over his sensibilities, and careful human thought and planning became less important. All he felt now was a blood lust and seeing the witch, who had dared to duel with him, had raised his blood-lust up a level. He had wanted the 'puppy', but she was beyond causing him trouble; now he really wanted the other girl.

Greyback walked towards the tomb that Hermione was lying on; he kicked Harry's prone body, near the edge of the tomb, out of his way and reached his next victim. The first thing he noticed was her smell; under the absurdly strong smell of cat, he recognized this girl's scent. They'd met before, maybe more than once. Lighting his wand, he looked at her face and couldn't contain a satisfied laugh, when he clearly saw the witch's identity.

"Well, well," said Greyback, amused.

Hermione's scent was in his head now and he was almost taken over by it, as he loomed over her. It was then she stirred, and immediately seeing the situation she was in, she struggled, trying to kick and claw at Greyback. He only laughed and got fully on top of her; his weight prevented her from getting any real purchase on her movements. He lowered his head, sniffing her and then disgustingly licked her neck.

Thinking of the dagger, Hermione tried to move a hand to her pocket; but as they struggled, she couldn't get a firm grip on the hilt to pull it out, and to her horror the dagger not only came free of its scabbard, but fell out of her pocket, off the edge of the tomb and rattled to the floor. She knew what had happened as soon as she felt it slide from her pocket; her last real hope of fighting back had slipped away from her...literally; her wand had been knocked from her hand to the floor, when she'd been struck by Greyback's spell; she had absolutely nothing to fight back with, and none of her non-verbal magic was any good.

_Shit, it's...it's like that dream! _thought Hermione, _That beast on top of me...and...and Ginny couldn't get to the shed in _her _dream. I couldn't reach her and I had that beast attacking me. Crookshanks tried to stop us and get our attention. Did he know? Was he trying to tell Ginny not to go to a shed alone? Was he telling me what the threat was? Bugger it now...too late._

It was then Greyback flinched as if poked by something, and he spun his head around to find Ginny standing there with a wand, having cast a spell at him. He hadn't heard her speak and when she tried to cast another curse at him, she was speaking in a husky whisper, unable to fully voice the strength of the curse needed, thanks to Greyback's attempt to strangle her. She was also using Harry's wand and it wasn't a perfect match with her, and mixed with not thinking clearly enough to try any distracting non-verbal magic, resulted in her feeble casting.

Hermione had tried to sit up slightly, to see her girlfriend more clearly and to find a way to help, but Greyback made a snarling noise and thumped a hand into Hermione's chest, sprawling her flat back on the tomb, and with hardly a pause between actions, he shot the _Cruciatus _curse at Ginny followed very quickly by _Avada Kedavra_; they were cast so quickly that it seemed to be like one big curse instead of two. All a scared and winded Hermione could do was raise her head a fraction and witness the horrible event to follow. She thought it was peculiar how, in mere seconds, she had felt so relieved to see Ginny alive and now so petrified for what came next, knowing that her hopes were shattered and her heart with it. Ginny gritted her teeth and hoped...she hoped so hard, it might have been construed as praying. _Please work again, _she desperately begged of the necklace she wore.

All three watched on as the curses went past Ginny's struggling attempt at a shielding charm and hit the redhead, just like her confrontation with Bellatrix had been. It flung her back and she was left spreadeagled on the ground, lifeless; but Ginny knew that the spells had not been successful and only the back-blast of them had had any effect; she certainly didn't feel the pain that Hermione had spoken of when faced with the _Cruciatus_ curse, and oddly she didn't seem to be unconscious, which surprised her. _Maybe the necklace is used to me now, _she thought, puzzled, _or _I'm _used to it_. However, for the moment she was completely debilitated and all she could do was lie there, with the other two conscious beings in the chamber sure of her demise.

"Nooo!" Hermione screamed. "Noooo! Not now!"

Ginny was aware of Hermione's distressed shouts and of Greyback laughing, followed by growling, but all the redhead could do was try hard to get more and more air into her lungs. Her whole body felt rigid and severely winded and she felt very hazy in her mind. As she fought to get her breath back and the ability to move, after so nearly being strangled moments before this latest hit, a thought came to her...except it was like no thought she had ever experienced before. It was like someone was talking to her.

**"**_**Get the dagger, use the dagger!" **_the thought voiced in her mind. _WHAT? _Ginny thought in answer. _I don't have a dagger and that useful dagger is with Fleur._

_**"Get the dagger, use the dagger!" **_the thought voiced again. And then Ginny stood up and walked over to where Greyback was about to maim Hermione. Yet in reality, she hadn't moved; she couldn't move just yet, and she was still lying flat on the cold stone floor; it was like she was floating above her body and she saw in close detail where the very dagger she needed was rested on the floor near to the tomb, the silver of the blade sparkling from the weedy flickering rush light. _What's happening? How? _she thought, confused, before the insistent voice overlapped her other thoughts, talking to her louder. _**"Use the dagger! Through the brute's back; a little left of the middle for the heart; push it through to the hilt!"**_

_This is all very well, _thought Ginny, _wonderful plan, but I can't even get up yet! And even if I could, what if he's lying flat on top of Hermione...I'll risk stabbing her too. If I could just get him to move away or..._

Then the other voice in her thoughts answered. _**"You have to do it now! He's going to hurt her. Do it now! I can protect her only so far!"**_

_Who's protecting...what's pro...? _she thought, before being stunned when the urgent voice was ringing in her head, and literally vibrating through her body. _**"Go NOW! NOWWW!"**_

Not quite knowing where the ability or energy came from, Ginny got to her feet and quietly got closer to Greyback, before going to her hands and knees and keeping out of sight to retrieve the dagger. She held the weapon firmly by its hilt and stood up behind Greyback, who was now beginning to rip open Hermione's shirt, leaving some grazing claw marks across the young woman's chest. Trying hard not to be distracted by her lover's distressed cries, or the werewolf's satisfied noises of reply, Ginny's eyes honed in on the place on his back she wanted to aim for, almost as if he had a target painted onto his coat.

In a fluid move, with only the thought of saving Hermione and ridding the world of the evil creature in front of her, she took the dagger in both hands and with all her strength plunged it down through material, through skin, flesh, feeling it graze bone as it then hit and passed through the heart. She wasn't sure how she missed bouncing back off a bone, or how she knew she'd hit the heart; but she just knew. _Fuck! _she thought, _I said I'd never do this...but needs must!_

Greyback roared, in pain and anger; he got off Hermione's dazed body and tried to take a swipe at Ginny, which she moved away from, so he didn't make a true connection with her. Blood was pouring from Greyback's mouth, chest and back now, and he was making a gurgling noise, rather than being able to breathe. A lot of his blood ended up on Ginny as the werewolf knocked into her with a flailing hand again. Using Harry's wand once more, Ginny cast a whispering _Incarcerous _spell at the werewolf and he tripped over and fell to the ground on his side; his legs were tied up with rope and in moments he made no more noise and was utterly still.

Ginny moved to Hermione. "Hermione?" she said in a hoarse voice, more so from emotion and not just a bruised throat.

The brunette tried to rise to a sitting position, still a little winded and in shock at the turn of events. Ginny lit the tip of the wand to look at Hermione's chest and neck, where she'd been scratched; thankfully none of the wounds looked deep, from what she could tell, and there were no obvious bite marks. She cast a quick _Reparo _spell to Hermione's shirt, so she wasn't showing so much bare skin, and thinking it would hopefully soak up any blood from the scratches.

"We found you," said Hermione, as she wrapped her arms around Ginny. "I promised you I would...I mean, you didn't know that, but I promised. I'll always find you, always. I thought you were taken again, I thought I was too late...but you're here..."

"You've found me," said Ginny, feeling very emotional, as she held her girlfriend. "And bloody fast too?! I thought I was going to be kept for days by that git. Or turned into his werewolf girlfriend, by the time anyone found me."

"I'll explain it later, but somehow I just knew," said Hermione, as she pulled back from their embrace and gently touched Ginny's cheek and swollen jaw. "Harry and Ron weren't sure, but Bill believed me."

"Harry!" said Ginny, her alarmed voice coming out in a strange high squeak, as she left Hermione and walked a couple of tired steps towards the prone body of Harry. _Don't say he's dead, _she thought, _after everything?! _

Hermione, getting her breath and energy back with every moment, moved to her side and felt for Harry's pulse. "He's knocked out...but breathing," she said, then gave him a shake. "Harry? Come on lazy bones!"

Harry stirred and seemed to remember he was on the floor, but in the middle of a duel with Greyback and nearly jumped straight back to his feet. He then discovered that the hand he held out in front of him, didn't hold a wand.

"I think this is yours," said Ginny, handing his wand back to him.

"Ginny?!" he gasped.

"Thanks, Harry; you and Hermione found me," said Ginny. "I'm not sure how much longer his patience would have gone. I wonder if he's got my wand on him...," she said, as she carefully approached Greyback's body.

Looking a little confused, Harry was staring from Ginny to Hermione to the body of the werewolf. Hermione put him out of his misery. "To bring you up to speed," she said. "You were knocked out, I was immobile too, but Ginny found the dagger on the ground and killed Greyback."

"Oh," said Harry, trying to take it all in, as they walked over to the werewolf too. "You're covered in blood, Ginny!" he said, noticing the blood more from that angle.

"Greyback's, not mine," said Ginny.

"And Greyback's attempts at a _Cruciatus _curse and _Avada Kedavra _on Ginny, also didn't work...which means...," said Hermione, just realizing it for a moment, as her mind caught up with the actual events before her.

"This," said Ginny, as she put a thumb down the collar of her zip-up sweater and polo shirt, to reveal the glint of the gold necklace. "I thought it might be useful when I found it in my bag...seems I was right."

"Have you got a sore throat?" Harry asked Ginny, realizing that there was no need for anyone to be whispering anymore, yet she still seemed to be.

Hermione answered for her girlfriend. "Greyback strangled her...or tried to," she said, taking a very deep breath, in relief, that he hadn't succeeded.

"Shit," replied Harry, unable to think of anything else to say to that piece of information.

Ginny checked the werewolf''s pockets, wearing a look of severe distaste, and was pleased to find her wand in the second one she tried. She lit the end of her wand and moved the light over his face. It didn't look as much like Greyback as before, and it wasn't just due to the blood.

"He looks younger," said Hermione.

"And not quite so werewolfish," said Harry. "If a werewolf could ever be said to look relaxed, then here's the example."

"I suppose once someone like him dies, he loses the aggression; that almost animalistic thing of always keeping a territory and being the alpha. I suppose this is as human as someone like him would ever be," said Hermione. "I'm not sure what the ones at Hogwarts would have looked like...maybe they went back to total human form, or stayed as werewolves. Greyback has always been something of an unique case."

Harry looked around, "Where are Bill and Ron?"

"_They're _here?" asked Ginny. "Where?"

"We left them upstairs," said Harry; then he remembered. "Shit, that scrawny little git went up there and came back..." He ran off towards the stairs and as he approached the other man, who was still unconscious, he added an _Incarcerous _to make sure he couldn't cause them trouble, but as he got to the stone steps he stopped.

"Ginny...have you got Ginny?" asked Bill, as he pushed past Harry.

"Hi, Bill," said Ginny, as she'd followed not far behind Harry.

Bill gave a loud sigh of relief to see and hear his sister; he walked over to Ginny and hugged her. "Are you all right? Did he bite you?"

"I'm fine and no bites," replied Ginny. She knew she was covered in quite a bit of blood, from what Harry had said, so explained to her brother. "Greyback's blood," she said, pointing to her sweater.

"Have you got a sore throat?" asked Bill, as he used a charm on the rush light to make it a bit lighter in the chamber.

"He kind of put his hands around my throat and squeezed," said Ginny, managing to smile. Bill was taken aback by that news, but didn't get a chance to ask further.

"Where's Ginny?" shouted another voice, preceding a flustered Ron rushing into the chamber.

"Everyone's fine, Ron," said Harry. "I think we're all a bit bruised and battered, but fine...well, except for Greyback."

Ginny had been surprised to see Ron rushing in, acting all concerned, and looked at Hermione with a raised eyebrow. Hermione leaned in and whispered, "I'll tell you everything in full later, but he's been really worried about you and insisted on coming with us."

Bill looked behind his sister and saw the expired body of Greyback. "_Avada Kedavra?_" he asked his sister, and Hermione.

"No, Ginny used the dagger," said Hermione.

"I suppose I ought to take the thing out," said Ginny. "It might be useful in future."

"I can do that," said Bill, as he wandered over to the body. Part of him wanted to place several well-aimed kicks at the werewolf, but he knew it would give him no real satisfaction, especially as Greyback was beyond pain and revenge now. Crouching down, Bill put his hand around the hilt of the dagger and pulled. The blade didn't move, so he pulled a little harder, but still it didn't move. "Ginny? Did you use any spell on him, when you stabbed him?"

"No, only _Incarcerous_. Why?" his sister asked.

"I can't pull the dagger out."

Ginny went over to her brother. "Maybe it's got caught in the front of his clothing. I didn't think of taking it out earlier, when I looked for my wand," she said, walking around the other side of the body and moving the flaps of Greyback's coat back. "Oh...that's odd."

"What is?" asked Bill, as he leaned over to look at what his sister was seeing. "Did you stab him up against a wall?"

"No. He was lying on top of Hermione at the time," said a bewildered Ginny.

"Hermione?" asked Bill. "Are you wearing...no, that's a stupid question."

"Am I wearing what?" asked a confused Hermione.

"Armour?" asked Bill.

"Armour? No. What are you talking about?"

"We can't pull the dagger out because the end has gone through Greyback and out of his chest, and hit something which has bent the last two inches of the blade at a right angle. As you're the thing Greyback had his front up against, I wondered if you were wearing something hard under your shirt?" explained Bill.

Hermione looked at the front of Greyback, and there was the end of the dagger blade bent at a right angle. "I don't understand...I know silver is a fairly soft metal, but to bend it that much, it would have to be stone or hardwood it pushed against...but he was on top of me...the...oh...," she paused, then looked at Ginny and Bill. "The blade should have gone into me too!? I don't understand why it didn't, because I'm not wearing armour, I can tell you that now!"

Ginny had been deep in thought, thinking through the moment she had stabbed Greyback and Hermione's position at that moment. She walked back over to the tomb that Hermione had almost been pinned to. There were no knife marks or pitting that could be associated with a sharp object, just a splattering of blood down the side from the staggering, dying werewolf. Then Ginny read a small engraving on top of the tomb and she felt a chill go through her spine. The engraving read:

_The remains that lieth in this tomb are believed to be those of Anne Boleyn, a Queen of England. _

"Surely not?!" Ginny said to herself out loud. _Was it her voice in my head? _she thought, _That's stretching things too far, isn't it? Although those thoughts did say they could protect Hermione only so far?! _

"What's wrong?" asked Hermione, as she sensed some turmoil in her girlfriend, as she stared at the tomb.

"You're going to think I've lost my marbles," said Ginny, her voice still hoarse and quieter than normal. "But I think...no, I can't even say it, it's so ridiculous!"

"After what we've seen? After what we've _all _seen, I'm not going to think you're crazy, whatever you're going to tell me," said Hermione, aware that Harry, Ron and Bill were standing near her now, interested too.

"Tell us what you're thinking," said Bill.

"I was winded by the blast of the curses being deflected," Ginny explained to all of them. "I couldn't move; then I had these thoughts come into my head, but it wasn't like it was in my own voice. Anyway, the 'thoughts' told me where the dagger was...then...then I sort of saw where it was from above...even though I hadn't actually moved. The thoughts definitely turned more into a voice, telling me I had to do it then, and that whatever or whomsoever it was could only protect Hermione so far. Suddenly, I was able to get up and get the dagger and stab Greyback."

"Okay," said Hermione, knowing there was a bit more to it.

"So, Bill and I discovered that the end of the dagger has been bent at an angle and I know the only thing under Greyback, was you," said Ginny to Hermione. "I just looked at the tomb...it says it holds Anne Boleyn...well, _probably_ holds Anne Boleyn."

"You think Anne Boleyn was talking to you and protected Hermione from the dagger?" asked Bill, immediately catching on to what his sister was trying to say.

"See? You think I'm insane!" said Ginny. "I just know what I know. I think I had help. I could have thought the process out and I'd never have trouble killing Greyback, but getting up as quickly as that? AND I didn't even know Hermione had the dagger here!? Hermione not getting any damage from the dagger...and the dagger itself looking like it's hit a brick wall? I'm wearing her necklace...," said Ginny, as she put a hand inside her collar and brought the necklace of Andrasta out on show again.

"Hmm," said Hermione. "Everyone, including Dumbledore, seems to think Anne Boleyn wasn't a witch, though. Historically, and personally, speaking, the charges of witchcraft against her were just trumped up nonsense so that her tyrannical, brutish husband, King Henry VIII, could move on to wife number three, partly in search of his life-long maddening obsession for a son...hmm...they even accused her of sleeping with her brother and executed him too!"

"Are all ghosts former witches, and do all witches become ghosts?!" offered Harry, more in helpful thought, than trying to be rhetorically clever. "Although what we dealt with here is related to the magical world, it doesn't mean that all the elements are magical too. After all, muggles frequently see ghosts or interact with them, or have things go missing, or get moved about in old houses."

"Ah, good point," said Hermione. "And...Hogwarts ghosts can talk and answer questions."

"But protect people from physical harm? Give people out-of-body experiences, _and_ give back someone's strength and energy?" asked Ginny, trying to discredit herself in some ways, because it all sounded bizarre to the extreme. "Not to mention, protect someone by bending metal?! _AND_ why would Anne Boleyn even care to help us, anyway?"

"Well, if there _is _anything to that theory, then I think Hermione might have answered that," said Harry.

"I did?" questioned Hermione.

"You said, and even I remember hearing this somewhere, that Henry VIII basically wanted to get rid of Anne Boleyn, so her charges were fake," explained Harry. "Henry was obsessed with getting a son as well as obsessed with courting and marrying women, I would say. You said he was 'brutish', which even fans of Henry would have to agree with at times. Think about it...you were helpless, physically, under the power of Greyback, with nothing to fight back with; maybe that struck a chord with Anne. Perhaps she didn't want to see a woman killed or maimed by another brute, if she could help it?"

"Wellll...," considered Hermione. "If you put it like that...maybe it explains why she, or whatever it was, did what it did...maybe..."

"Hermione," said Bill, taking in the conversation and wanting to know more. "What made you so sure that Ginny was here? What were you thinking or doing that it suddenly came to you?"

Hermione thought back to standing in the ruins of the Dunwich friary. "I put my hand in my pocket and felt the dagger, and it made me think of the day Ginny and I bought it from Borgin...and then I just knew...it sort of came to me." She paused, in thought. "In that moment it was like a physical connection to her. The only reason I suggested Dunwich first, was because we read about it in an old book of Dumbledore's; I didn't actually _feel_ her there like I did about this place."

"What time was that, when you decided I was here?" asked Ginny, noticing Bill's expression and tuning in to what her eldest brother was thinking about.

"Time? I don't know," said Hermione. "It was really dark. We'd only had a little while checking the ruins at Dunwich, so, it was maybe sometime around midnight."

"When I found I still had the necklace in my bag, I thought about the day we'd bought it from Borgin, before I planned out an elaborate way to put it on without Greyback or his friend seeing me do it," said Ginny. "I remember asking for the time around then, before I figured out a way to wear it. That small bloke told me it was about midnight...so it would have been after midnight when I got the necklace on. When I felt it against my skin...I...I had such a strong feeling about you, like you were only just out of reach."

"I don't understand it," said Ron. "What is it you're both trying to say?"

"I don't understand it either," said Hermione. "But I think Ginny and I have a deep connection because of the items we had. Or probably it was like they were used as a conduit for Ginny's location to reach me. In here I think it might have been enough for Ginny to be wearing the necklace to help. Even that cat upstairs helped...as we looked to where he came from, then used him to mask mine and Harry's scents."

"I think it's possible the 'stabbing Greyback' thing, might have worked for anyone wearing the necklace, so close to Anne's supposed final resting place, and in the predicament we were in too," said Ginny. "Either way..."

"Either way," said Harry, butting in. "You two have a connection that goes a lot deeper than any of us can understand. I think any object you were both familiar with, or meant something to you, would have worked the same to find each other. The Anne Boleyn thing is something else."

Hermione and Ginny felt slightly awkward, especially with Ron so close to them; they hardly dared to look in his direction. "Maybe," said Hermione, not committing herself to the theory one way or another. "I'm not sure it can ever be understood completely. We both had peculiar dreams about Crookshanks recently; in mine he turned into a hound monster thing, and tore out my heart with his teeth...maybe it was a premonition about all of this!? We both dreamed about Crookshanks stopping us from going where we needed to go; in Ginny's case he stopped her from going to a shed! Maybe he was trying to warn us from the beginning?!"

"I hadn't thought about that," said Ginny. "Wow, it makes those dreams very creepy now!"

"You invoked the help of Anne Boleyn?" said Ron suddenly, as if he was only just catching up with the information. "Bloody hell!"

"We don't know that for certain," said Ginny. "It might just have been my mind come up with it. I'd had a hit to the head a couple of times, and Greyback nearly succeeded in strangling me...so it might have made me a bit loopy."

"He nearly strangled you?" Ron asked.

"Yes," said a tired Ginny, not wanting to keep repeating things. "I'm not talking with this husky voice to be sexy!"

"And you killed Greyback?" her brother asked. His sister just nodded. "Bloody hell!"

Ginny rolled her eyes and gave a shake of her head as she looked at Hermione. "It's not something I planned. Not long after he took me, I badly wanted to cause him pain, but the actual act, I didn't have much time to think about it, he was about to hurt Hermione."

Ron looked to his ex-girlfriend and then back to his sister, as if weighing up what he was going to say next, with the two women in question dreading what that might be. "I'm...I'm really glad you're okay, Ginny," he said, surprising everyone a little. "You too, Hermione."

"They're not one-hundred percent," said Bill. "I think they both need some attention."

Ginny looked at her brothers and Harry. "You've all got some bruising to your faces or heads too," she said. "What happened upstairs?"

"That little runt of a bloke came up, but took us by surprise," said Ron. "We thought, even if things had turned bad down here, that one of you two would still be the first ones to climb the steps. I stupidly nearly dropped my wand, so although Bill had his ready, we were both caught out; he struck down Bill and got me before I could get my ruddy wand in my hand properly." He rubbed the side of his head where he'd banged it on falling to the floor; he was feeling a bit embarrassed about it all.

"Is there any reason why we can't Disapparate from here?" asked Harry. "Rather than trampling up the stairs again?"

"No reason, now we know where we are. We can't all go back yet, though," said Bill. "We need to make sure Greyback's body is dealt with properly by the Ministry, and we have that other man still alive needing to be taken into custody."

"Bill and I had better stay here," said Harry. "I don't think anyone should stay here alone."

"I agree on that," said Bill. "We don't know if Greyback had others helping him who might drop by. Ron, can you Side-Along Apparate Ginny back to the Burrow and Hermione too?"

"I can Disapparate myself," said Hermione.

"I'd prefer it if someone took you, you've had a lot more trauma than us lot; both of you have," said Bill. "Are you okay with that, Ron?"

"Yeah, no problem," said Ron. "I'll send a message to Fleur to let her know, and send messages to the others too. I think I'll get Fleur to come over to the Burrow, because both these two need some patching up. We don't want Mum getting too stressed with it all."

"Patching up?" said Hermione, not quite believing how friendly and sensible Ron was acting.

"You're bleeding," Ron stated simply, pointing to blood seeping through Hermione's mended shirt, from the claw marks on her chest. She had some of Greyback's blood on her shirt too, but it was obvious where her own blood was coming from wounds.

"Oh...," said Hermione; she did feel some pain from the wounds, and bruising on her backside and the back of her shoulders, where she'd landed on the tomb and struggled with Greyback. "Okay," she said tiredly, not having the energy to argue. _I've got Ginny back, _she thought, _and the fact everyone's basically all right, that's what matters._

Ron held Hermione's hand and one of Ginny's, and Side-Along Apparated them to the kitchen of the Burrow. Ginny could begin to feel aches and pains to most areas of her body, after being thrown around and bumped a lot since her capture and the rescue.

"Mum? We're back! MUM?" called Ron, as he saw both his weary sister and Hermione to sit at the table in the kitchen. He was getting them glasses of water as his mother rushed in, having been upstairs.

"Ginny?" Mrs. Weasley cried out, as she set her eyes upon her daughter. "Ginny!" she said as she enveloped her youngest child in an embrace. She pulled a chair out next to her and looked into her eyes, and at her face, taking in the swollen jaw and her general appearance. She noticed all the blood and looked down and saw the blood on her daughter's hands too. "Where are you bleeding?" she asked frantically.

"Nowhere...at least I don't think I am," said Ginny.

"Your hands?" her mother asked, taking Ginny's hands in hers.

"I...I killed Greyback, it's probably his." Ginny looked down and saw her blood-covered hands. It surprised her, but she remembered Greyback had bled a great deal and that a lot of it had splashed onto her. She'd also looked at the dagger and thought she probably got her hands more bloody from investigating that. The fact she'd killed Greyback sounded odd to admit to, but she felt no guilt, because in doing so she had saved Hermione and herself and probably countless others, and if the War with Voldemort, and the Battle, had taught her anything, it was about the preservation of the ones you loved and the 'greater good'.

"What?!" Mrs. Weasley was almost too stunned by that information to move.

"Err, Mum," said Ron. "I think Hermione might need you help first...she _is _definitely bleeding."

Hermione wanted to glare at Ron for bringing attention to that, because she wasn't sure she wanted to be fussed over. _I just want to be quiet somewhere with Ginny, _she thought, _hold her, and be held by her. _"It's only a couple of scratches, nothing too deep."

"Good grief?!" Mrs. Weasley said, as she looked at Hermione and her bloodied shirt. "How on earth did...?"

"Greyback got her," said Ginny, before quickly adding, "Not bites."

"No, I don't think he bit me...he licked me," said Hermione, feeling sick at the thought of it now. "We kind of had a struggle, which he won, and I got a few scratches. If Ginny hadn't plunged the dagger into him, I might be having more than bad tempers every month, because he'd been set to do more at that moment. We're both lucky to be alive. Greyback nearly strangled Ginny, and thanks to that necklace she survived _Avada Kedavra _again, before she was able to rescue me."

Mrs. Weasley put a hand to her mouth in shock. "I wondered why you sounded like you had a sore throat. Thank Merlin you're alive...both of you. Thank Merlin for the necklace!" She paused on that information before other thoughts came to her. "Where were you taken to Ginny? How is it that you were found so quickly? Did Bill...do whatever it is he can do and find you first time?"

"Mum, we'll explain it all when everyone gets back, because there's a lot to tell, and we don't want to keep repeating ourselves," said Ginny, wondering whether she ought to wear a little sign around her neck explaining that she didn't have a sore throat, at least not in the flu sense. "I think I could do with a lie down, as could Hermione. Perhaps you can see to her upstairs?" asked Ginny.

"Of course, dear," said Mrs. Weasley. "We'll have to take that shirt off, so it's best done upstairs." She stood up, hugged her daughter again and placed a kiss on top of her head. "I'm so relieved to have you back...when I think of what might have happened...," her voice wavered.

"I'm home, Mum," said Ginny. "And I'm basically okay."

"I'm going to fetch Fleur," said Ron. "She can give you a hand, and then she'll be here for when the others get back." He then explained to his mother why Bill and Harry had stayed behind for a little while.

"You two go up," said Mrs. Weasley to the two women, as she also hugged Hermione. "I'll be upstairs in a tick."

It was with relief that Hermione and Ginny walked into the redhead's bedroom; with the door closed they embraced, revelling in being able to hold the other. Neither said anything for a few moments, both were incredibly tired.

"Hermione," began Ginny. "Thank y..."

"You don't need to say it," said Hermione. "You'd do the same for me; you've _done _the same for me. You have a pretty wonderful family, you know. Even Ron was desperate to find you." She briefly told an amazed Ginny about what Ron had said, which touched his sister more than she thought it ever could. "Anyway," said the brunette. "I've got you back and we're both safe."

The two women shared a sweet kiss, unaware and uncaring of the blood over them both, and then Hermione wrapped her arms around her girlfriend again and held her tightly to her.

"OW!"

Hermione jumped back. "Sorry, did I squeeze against a bruise? Is it your chest from the curses?"

"It's the top of my arm and shoulder," said Ginny with a little grimace, as she tried to flex her left arm and moved her right hand to hold her arm around the deltoid muscle. "Shit, it's sore."

"Let's sit down," said Hermione as she led Ginny to her bed. She noticed that one or both of them had left some drops of blood on the floor and thought about the quick cleaning charm they'd have to perform. It was as they sat down and Hermione held Ginny's hands that she noticed the redhead's left hand was still wetly darkened with blood. "I think you might have a cut somewhere?" she questioned, concerned.

"I feel a few aches and pains, but nothing specific," said Ginny. "I'd like my voice back properly and not have the feeling of that evil git's hands still around my neck."

"I think we'd better take off your sweater, and see where this blood is coming from," suggested Hermione.

"It's probably only a scratch. It can't be more because I'd feel it, and I don't feel anything like a cut, more like sore muscles; besides, we need to see to you first."

Hermione was about to protest when there was a knock on the door. "Come in," she said.

The door opened and Mrs. Weasley walked in with Fleur in tow. "Fleur just got here and wanted to see you both."

Hermione smiled at the Frenchwoman. "It worked," she said. "The dagger...it did the job."

"I'm pleased it was useful," said Fleur as she smiled warmly back at both women, relieved to see that they didn't look in too bad a condition.

"Why didn't you give it to Bill?" asked Hermione. "We weren't going to be split up?"

"I know and you know he wasn't made a werewolf," said Fleur, as she sat on Hermione's bed. "But his case is unique. I've read a lot about werewolf lore, some of it from sources not available to the everyday witch or wizard. A werewolf finds it difficult to kill the one who made them, who bit them. We have no way of knowing, but there was a small chance Bill couldn't do the final act because of that. Although not a werewolf, he has some of the characteristics and we don't know how far that goes; thankfully now we'll never have to find out in that particular situation."

"Ginny actually used it," said Hermione, as she watched Mrs. Weasley go to sit on Ginny's bed to look after her daughter. "We'll explain some of the weirder things later, when everyone is together again."

"So, it looks like you're in need of some healing?" Fleur asked Hermione.

"Just some scratches," replied the brunette.

"I'll see to you, then," said Fleur. "If you're okay for me to help?"

"Of course," said Hermione. "It's not the first time you've had to help me out."

Fleur gave a genuine smile again. "You'd better take your shirt off. Do you want to use magic for that? It's quicker and won't pull on any healing scratches." Hermione nodded and Fleur waved her wand to remove Hermione's shirt, leaving the brunette in her bra. The blonde woman hovered her wand over the scratches, her face a picture of concentration. After a couple of minutes she said, "Thankfully the wounds aren't deep and there's no bites, so there's no curses."

"That's good to know," said Hermione. "I didn't think he'd bitten me, but in a fight like that it's hard to know exactly what happened. I'm not vain, but it wouldn't have been nice. I think the scratches mostly happened when he ripped the front of my shirt, he didn't get a chance to add to it. I suppose because of Greyback's unique version of lycanthropy, we can't really know whether Bill got lucky in not being turned, or whether other people bitten by Greyback in his unchanged, normal state, _might _be full werewolves. I've thought about that a lot."

"As have I," said Fleur. "And from what I know, there _is _no way to know for certain. We have to be thankful that Greyback is dead, and Bill did indeed get lucky."

"Off with the sweater," said Mrs. Weasley to her daughter, on the other side of the room, as she tried to help Ginny with her clothes. "It would be so much faster if you let me help you."

"I'm not five years old!" said Ginny.

"Ginny, stop being a twit and let your mum care for you!" said Hermione, as she rolled her eyes at Fleur who was applying a cooling, soothing salve to where Hermione's scratches had been. Fleur had magically healed the wounds with dittany; only faint red lines hinted that there had been an injury at all to the brunette's chest; the salve was just to aid the complete healing. Hermione put on a clean shirt and shook her head in amusement as she heard Ginny's continued protests.

"You're both bullying me!" said Ginny, with a little grin. "I'm tired and not really in the mood to be poked around. I'm sure I'm bruised a lot, that's all." She unzipped the neck of the sweater, aware that it had several rips and might be beyond repair, and made to fluidly take off the garment, only to be stopped again by a pain in her shoulder.

"Oh for goodness sake!" said Mrs. Weasley, thinking her daughter was deliberately stalling. She waved her wand and the bloodied sweater was gone. "Merlin's beard! Ginny?!" said Mrs. Weasley.

"Is my throat bruised?" asked Ginny, in her still husky voice. "It feels it."

"Throat?!" Mrs. Weasley very nearly shrieked. "Your arm! You're bleeding."

Ginny looked down to the side her mother had pointed to and saw fresh blood rolling down her left arm. With another wave of her mother's wand, Ginny's polo shirt was gone and the origin of the blood became apparent. There were four deep gouges across the top of Ginny's shoulder, from her deltoid to halfway across to her neck; they were so deep that the strap of her bra was cut through.

"Oh! That explains...that," said Ginny, tiredly; she then promptly passed out back onto her bed.

Hermione jumped off the bed she was sitting on and rushed to Ginny's side, worry surging through her, making her heart ache. _Everything was supposed to be over, _she thought, _what more has to happen to us? Ginny..._

**A/N: Sorry! For old times sake, I just had to do one more cliffhanger. *ducks weapons and flying furniture*. LOL**

**The whole Greyback story arc came to me at the beginning of the story and I wasn't sure where it would come in until I was thinking up items that could be bought at Borgin & Burkes. And for some reason at that very same time I knew I wanted the St. Peter ad Vincula chapel at the Tower of London involved. The Anne Boleyn idea was born around the same time and I knew exactly what I wanted to do with it...a subtle little nudge to her anyway. It was very handy that Anne's last resting place is in that chapel. The exact, pinpoint location isn't known, but skeletons were found during renovations in the chapel in the 1870s(if I remember correctly) and one was supposedly identified as Anne, and the skeletons were reinterred in a 'receptacle', in a vault/crypt/hole(exact details vary!) under the altar...ish...maybe. :) Other remains there include notable high status, executed people, including fellow Henrician wife, Catherine Howard, and also Lady Jane Grey who was England's shortest 'reigning' queen, (executed by her cousin, Mary I, in 1554 aged about 17). Some say she wasn't queen, but for nine days she was recognised in some quarters as being so and named as heir in the altered will of King Edward VI.**

**So I've invented Anne's last resting place in the absence of any official knowledge. Although it's still a little ambiguous as to whether you think it really was Anne helping our girls, or just Ginny and Hermione having super intuition to help the other, I'll leave that up to the reader to decide what they want to believe about it. It might even be satisfactory to consider a mixture of both. I also wanted the necklace to have potentially unique qualities. Even a wizard like Dumbledore didn't know or detect anything much about it; I wanted it to be something that sat between magical and muggle worlds and had its own rules. **

**Some of you might have liked that storyline, some of you might have hated it, but I liked it. Strangely, I'm not the biggest fan of Anne's, because at times she was manipulative and cruel(although her actions were sometimes forced onto her from her family, or were born from fear), but I have an interest in wronged women in history and how male historians, up until recent decades, have gone out of their way to discredit them even more. Six fingers, my arse! LOL Thankfully, history and historians have come a long way in recent years. :)**


	83. Here and There

**A/N: Well, here were are: the last chapter. This is how I always wanted to end the story, even down to the setting. **

**It's kind of sad now I've reached this point, but it's been enjoyable. I'll give myself a bit of a break from it all, but I'm sure I'll be back with another story at some point, but possibly a different pairing.**

**Thanks to all the people that have sent me PMs, both the supportive kind and the critical ones...it keeps life extremely interesting. ;)**

83: Here and There

"How did she not feel that? It must have been agony?!" said Mrs. Weasley, as she was pressing a wad of cloth to the wounds, taking it off to inspect them, before pressing down again.

"I've read that sometimes when a person is in a dangerous situation they have so much adrenalin rushing through them, that they feel no pain," said Hermione; she gently caressed Ginny's cheek with the back of her hand, before she carefully removed the necklace of Andrasta from around Ginny's neck and placed it on the bedside table, once again indebted to it. "It's possible the wounds started to close up and only moving about, once we got back here, broke them open again."

"Muggles have some strange explanations," said Mrs. Weasley.

"It's science. After all, a human body is a human body, we might differ on courses of action, that's all." Hermione had been so relieved to find Ginny was still breathing, but that didn't calm her completely.

"We have some dittany up here, don't we?" asked a worried Mrs. Weasley.

"Yes, here," said Hermione, as she picked up the bottle from the bedside table and passed it over. "Fleur used some on me."

Fleur was now using pressure on the wounds as Mrs. Weasley wiped her hands on a cloth and was given the dittany by Hermione. Fleur removed the wadded cloth and stared at the wounds, leaning in closer to almost study them, before holding her wand over them.

"Well?" said Mrs. Weasley. "What do you think?"

"What does she think about what?" asked Hermione. "Ginny didn't get bitten."

"_Didn't_ she?" asked a concerned Mrs. Weasley. "Neither you nor Ginny remembers her getting hurt, or you would have said something when you arrived back here. We don't know that...that Greyback didn't sink his teeth in at...at some point."

Hermione looked from Mrs. Weasley to Fleur and then to the pale-faced passed-out Ginny; she swallowed hard as she considered the implications, willing it not to be the case. _You weren't bitten, Ginny, _she thought, _you weren't bitten, you were NOT bitten. _Over and over she willed it to be true.

Fleur leaned in closely again, studying Ginny's wounds, which had finally stopped oozing fresh blood, and disturbingly sniffed at them; after hovering her wand over the gashes once more, she finally stood up, her face strained with concentration. "Have another look, and see what you think," she said to Mrs. Weasley. "I'll tell you what I think once you've had another look yourself."

The two women swapped places as Mrs. Weasley went through the same routine that the Frenchwoman had, although she didn't resort to sniffing her daughter.

"I have to ask," said Hermione in a very quiet voice to Fleur. "Why did you sniff Ginny? You didn't sniff me?"

"Your wounds were very shallow, scratches in comparison to Ginny's, and so obviously the result of claws. With these deep cuts it's hard to be sure on looks alone; the Veela in me recognizes certain things, and I'll never forget the details of my husband's terrible wounding," replied Fleur.

"So, is...?" began Hermione, but Fleur cut her off.

"In a moment," said Fleur, softly. "I want to know what she thinks before we reach any conclusions or decisions."

Another agonizing couple of minutes passed before Mrs. Weasley brushed some of Ginny's hair away from her forehead, and placed a kiss there. She stood back up straight to face the other two women. "I don't think it's the same as with Bill," she said. "What's your verdict, Fleur?"

Fleur's shoulders seemed to slump with relief. "I couldn't detect the same things as I did with Bill either. I think she's been clawed, not bitten and like Hermione they do not appear to be cursed, just nasty; although, she has some horrific bruises developing across her chest."

Hermione flopped down and sat on the edge of Ginny's bed, reaching for the girl's hand. "She's going to be okay?!" she said, nearly asking the air, instead of any specific person.

"Yes," said Mrs. Weasley. "She's lost a lot of blood, and mixed with exhaustion and shock I think that's why she passed out. My dear, dear Ginny..."

"At least we know what to do, now," said Hermione, as she looked at her girlfriend. "Oh and the bruises there, are probably from the necklace repelling the curses; it happened before."

Mrs. Weasley held the bottle of dittany and aimed several drops onto her daughter's wounds. The muscles in Ginny's shoulder twitched and spasmed, even though she didn't awaken. There were some sizzling sounds and a little steam rose up, but before all their eyes, the slashes knitted together and closed up, proving that the wounds were not cursed. To the four scar-like healed lines left, Fleur applied some of the salve she'd used on Hermione. Then Mrs. Weasley flicked her wand a couple of times, to clean Ginny up and put her into some sleepwear, and pulled the sheet and blanket up, so her daughter wouldn't get cold.

"When she stirs, we'll give her some potion to help with the healing process and to restore some of the blood she's lost, but for now let's leave her to sleep," said Mrs. Weasley.

"I'm not leaving her side!" said Hermione. "When she wakes up, I'll be here."

"Hermione, you could really do with going to get something to eat and drink, and get some rest yourself," said Mrs. Weasley, kindly. "She's not going anywhere and she's safe in her own bed."

Hermione was about to protest, when Fleur spoke to her mother-in-law. "Would you leave your husband's side, if he were hurt? I know you didn't after the attack from that snake, just as I didn't leave Bill's side. It's the same for Hermione, and Ginny would want her to be here."

The Weasley matriarch blinked, stared at Fleur for a moment, then moved her gaze to Hermione and finally to her daughter. "Yes...yes, of course."

Making herself comfortable, sitting on a chair beside Ginny's bed, Hermione said, "I'll let you know the moment she wakes up."

As Mrs. Weasley turned to leave the room, she rested a hand on Hermione's shoulder. "Thank you for getting her back."

"I would...," but Hermione was cut off.

"I _know_ you would have done anything to get her back, and she would for you too, but I can still say thank you," said Mrs. Weasley as she then left the room. "The others will probably be getting back soon," she said out on the landing, before descending the stairs.

"I'll bring you up a cup of tea in a little while," said Fleur, as she also rested a comforting hand on Hermione's shoulder. "Ginny's going to be okay; she's going to be fine."

"Thanks Fleur," replied Hermione, feeling a lump in her throat. "If you hadn't given me the dagger, Ginny and me might both be craving raw meat or worse by now."

"Then I chose correctly," said Fleur with an encouraging smile, before leaving.

Ginny seemed to be fast asleep now, rather than passed out, and Hermione couldn't help but stare at her girlfriend and think of everything they'd been through and especially the last few hours. _Goodness, if anything had happened to either of us that would have been a nasty surprise for my parents when they got back, _she thought.

Hermione leaned forward from her chair, folding her arms in front of her onto Ginny's bed and rested her head on her arms, keeping it turned so she could watch over the redhead. Inevitably Hermione dropped off to sleep herself and only woke up when she felt something on her head; she jumped slightly, not knowing where she was for the moment.

"Hello," said a husky voice.

Hermione opened her eyes fully and saw that Ginny was awake and it was her hand on Hermione's head that had woken her up. "Ginny!" the brunette said, very much awake now. "How are you feeling?"

"Tired," said Ginny with a smile. She looked down at herself and at her room. "And a little confused."

Holding the redhead's hand, Hermione explained what had happened to a genuinely confused and marginally embarrassed Ginny. "Anyway, I need to go and tell your mum that you're awake."

"What time is it?"

Looking at the clock in the room Hermione replied. "Nearly 5am."

"She'll be in bed, won't she?"

"I don't know, but I said I'd tell her when you stirred," said Hermione as she stood up, leaned over Ginny and gently kissed her. "I'll be back in a tick."

On reaching the landing, with Hermione wondering if anyone was still awake, or if they'd left things the way they were thinking both girls needed the rest, she heard muffled voices. She made her way downstairs, and to her surprise everyone was still up and sitting in the living room. Mr. Weasley was dozing in his chair, and Ron had seemingly dropped off on the floor leaning up against the sofa. Fleur, Harry, Bill and Mrs. Weasley all looked wide awake. Even George and Percy were there with the rest of them.

"Hermione?" said Fleur; she was the first to notice her arrival into the room.

"Ginny's awake," said the brunette. "She seems to be okay."

In an almost comical way, everyone stood up, all wanting to go and see Ginny. In the circumstances Hermione didn't dream of telling them they should give Ginny some space; they'd all been worried sick about her kidnapping, even Ron, and they wanted to see with their own eyes that she was all right.

"I brought you a cup of tea," said Fleur, "But when I saw you were sleeping, I left you to it."

"That's okay, I obviously needed the sleep," said Hermione with a little smile.

Hermione walked into Ginny's room first. "I've sort of brought the entire family with me," she laughed, as Mr. and Mrs. Weasley, Bill, Fleur, George, Percy, Ron and Harry walked into the room.

Despite the late hour, which was so late it was in fact very early, everyone was wide awake, including Ginny now. Somehow everyone ended up sitting down; some on the bed Hermione used and others in a couple of chairs, as they all began to talk about the evening's events. Everything was discussed, from what they found on their search, to the black and white cat, to the mini battle that ensued, and finishing with the incredibly eerie belief that Ginny and Hermione might have had help from Anne Boleyn. That last fact wasn't laughed at by anyone, and certainly not from the people who had been there. Fleur, along with Ginny's parents, seemed to acknowledge the concept as possible too.

Finally everyone left the room to go and get some sleep, and Mrs. Weasley checked on Ginny, and was satisfied that the wounds Greyback had left were healed up and were only visible as four jagged red lines. There was still some visible bruising to Ginny's throat and jaw, even after using some dittany, but it was beginning to fade too. They looked at the bruising to Ginny's chest again, and used some dittany on that, which seemed to make a difference straight away. Mrs. Weasley then gave Ginny a potion to drink, which was supposed to help with the loss of blood and general healing.

Ginny had a sip of it and nearly spat it out. "That's bloody horrible!" she stated.

"Medicines rarely taste good," said Hermione. "Down it as quickly as you can, so you don't notice it so much."

"Easy for you to say," said Ginny. "You haven't just had your taste buds assaulted by something that tastes like cat vomit."

"I don't have much experience with drinking cat vomit," said Hermione with a grin.

"Ohhh!" groaned Ginny.

"Don't be a baby, just drink it!" said Mrs. Weasley. "Or do I have to hold your nose and force it down you?!"

"All right, all right! I'm drinking it!" said Ginny, as she grimaced and placed the cup of potion to her lips again. She did indeed gulp down the potion, and once done she looked a little queasy, as if she might heave the lot up again, but she survived it and settled back on the bed.

"Both try and get some sleep now, girls," said Mrs. Weasley, as she left the room.

Hermione went to close the door and with a wave of her wand was in a T'Shirt and shorts. She went over to Ginny and sat on her bed; they held hands and just looked at each other.

"I'm drawing with Harry now, aren't I?" said Ginny, breaking the silence.

"Drawing?" asked a confused Hermione.

"I've survived two _Avada Kedavras, _so has he...or has he got another one in there, I'm forgetting?"

"I think it was two that definitely made contact, although as he actually died with the second one, I'm not sure if that counts as surviving it...," considered Hermione, nearly wanting to laugh at how absurd the subject was. _We're_ _discussing surviving the Killing Curse, more than once, and by two different people, _she thought, _it's crazy!_

"Anyway, I'm hoping that's all the balance needed now," said Ginny, tiredly.

"Balance?" asked Hermione.

"Harry's theory, which he got from Luna, about everything having to be balanced. Where there's a lot of good, there is often some bad."

"Hmm, I think we've had lopsided scales here," said Hermione. "Way too much pain and stress on our side.

"You think so?" said Ginny, deep in thought. "We brought back Harry from the dead and Harry defeated and basically killed Voldermort. That's two huge events to load our side up. For us, we've lost Fred, I also count Lupin and Tonks...you were injured badly back in 1943 and we were a little beaten up at the hands of Greyback. I think we still got the better deal; however much I miss Fred, we got rid of Voldemort for good."

"If you put it that way, I see your point," said Hermione. "But we nearly lost you to Bellatrix and...and..."

"But we didn't. I survived what the old hag threw at me."

"Well, whatever the case, I hope there aren't many more obstacles. I thought everything was fine once I'd found my parents. I felt I'd gone full circle from the day I decided to send them away," said Hermione. "And yet, there was even more crap thrown our way when Greyback took you. I thought I'd nearly lost you again when he had his hands round your throat and again with those curses, as I didn't have a clue you were wearing the necklace. We were worried you'd been bitten too. Why have our lives had to be so hard, lately? Harder than most people at the moment."

"I don't think life is easy for many people, especially not recently in the magical world," said Ginny. "It seems like it's easier for others, but I'm sure they all have their fair share of issues to deal with, it's just not so obvious in some people."

"For now, I'm happy to have you back and safe," said Hermione. She leaned over and kissed Ginny, tenderly pressing her lips to the redhead's. "I think after everything that's happened, that's all I need to be happy: to have you with me. Maybe I should stop looking ahead too far and just enjoy each moment for what it is. I've also been thinking on what Harry said."

"Oh?"

"About us having a connection deeper than anyone else can understand. I think it's something that began a while ago in a small way. When I went missing in 1943 you found me _very_ quickly."

"_I _didn't really find you, it was Matt and Joe crossing my path that helped with that," said Ginny.

"Yeah, but you were in the right place and at the right time to see them and find out about me," offered Hermione. "And then us finding you at the Tower of London. It was bizarre how I was so sure of where you were when touching that dagger. And you know me, anything bordering on divination makes me uncertain, normally."

"Perhaps it's not meant to be explained, just accepted?"

"I've thought about something else too," said Hermione. "When I first had feelings for you, and yes, when I was trying to run from it, I kept having these long internal debates with myself. It was around the time you found me in 1943 that it started. It was like I was questioning everything and another part of me was answering. Often it made me more confused and didn't help at all. However, once I fully accepted that I loved you and we admitted it, and made love, that wary other part of me, the part that was almost goading me, went away. I've only had normal thoughts since then."

Ginny had looked deeply surprised. "You aren't going to believe this, but it happened to me too and around that same time. I had this nagging other inner voice...not an Anne Boleyn thing, because that was VERY different, but another part of me was continually questioning myself. It made me feel crazy at times because it didn't help...well, other than state the obvious and acknowledge the truth about the way I was feeling about you. I haven't had those inner conversations for a while and that's probably since I accepted I loved you and since I accepted that loving you and sleeping with you was completely what I wanted."

"It's not something I could easily explain to others, but I think that we formed a deep connection, beyond just love, when we accepted everything, when that inner voice didn't bother us anymore," said a very thoughtful Hermione. "It's almost like we created a link so strong it was like an Unbreakable Vow. Remember the morning after we first made love...?"

Ginny smiled and even blushed a little. "Of course I remember. I'll always remember that time."

"Remember how we both said we felt 'different'?" said Hermione. "I'm thinking that something happened when we slept together."

"Something _definitely _happened," said Ginny, unable to stop a little laugh. However, she saw how serious Hermione looked and gave her hands a little squeeze. "Sorry, go on."

"I think we...when we first made love, I think something changed and I think we created this bond, like an Unbreakable Vow. I'm not sure it's even magic, though, and it doesn't happen to everyone, but something about us, about the situation, about..._everything_, altered us." Hermione paused trying to find the best way to continue her explanation. "Remember how we were always tuned in to what the other was thinking even before our first time, and that feeling only got stronger after then. Our patronuses changed and from what Harry says it's usually from unrequited love. We didn't have _unrequited _love, but we were separated and fearful for the safety of the other. I think our patronuses changed, because in those moments we had a part of the other with us. It will sound sickly or clichéd, but you're a part of me now, and I'm bold enough to say I'm a part of you. I'm probably not making sense..."

"You are," said Ginny. "You're making sense to _me_. I think the reason why our patronuses went back to normal when we tested them later, was because we were together and there was no danger. I didn't have cause or a wand to use the charm when Greyback had me, but I bet my patronus would have been your otter."

"Yes," said Hermione. "I think it would have been. Whatever it is, I think and hope that we'll always have that."

"Well, I definitely think we _do_ have something more going on." Ginny wrapped an arm around Hermione's neck and pulled her down for another kiss. "And I'm not sure I _want_ to explain it completely beyond that. All I do know for certain is that, I love you, Hermione."

"I love you too, Ginny," said Hermione, as their eyes met, both sparkling with tears and love.

Not caring what anyone thought, if they saw it the next day, Hermione, with the help of magic, moved her bed next to Ginny's and performed a little transfiguration spell, to make it into a double bed, before getting in it and cuddling up with her girlfriend.

XXXXXXXXXX

The next few days were busy ones, with Hermione going to her parents' house to meet them when they arrived back. Ginny wanted to go too, and Hermione agreed, telling Mrs. Weasley that they wouldn't stay long as her parents would be jetlagged and in all probability need to rest for a couple of days.

In keeping with her policy of honesty, Hermione told her parents about the werewolf diversion a couple of days later. Her parents were deeply concerned about the events and extremely relieved to learn that neither girl had been bitten and infected, but they had already got to the stage where that kind of news no longer shocked them. They were worried, but not as deeply disturbed as most muggles would have been. In recent days they had learned so much about their daughter's world, more so than in the last six or seven years, that nothing completely surprised them anymore.

XXXXXXXXXX

A couple of weeks later at the beginning of July.

Hermione and Ginny were having breakfast at the house in Godric's Hollow; both were completely recovered from the incident with the werewolf, Greyback. Relations with Ron had improved beyond hope; he continued to prefer avoiding long conversations with them, if he could help it, but was almost pleasant to them now. Facing death and danger together had brought Ron to a different level of understanding, as if it proved to him that underneath it all, nothing had changed about their true underlying friendship or the fact he loved his family, whatever they did. They had caught him occasionally looking wistfully at them, but they had also caught Harry giving them the same look too. On the whole, life was much better, now.

As they finished their cups of tea, an owl squawked from the study; both women walked through to see if it was Hugo and instead saw a long-eared owl standing on the desk, all proud and as if at attention. Hermione untied the letter from its leg, gave the owl a treat and saw it fly off happily.

"It's from Hogwarts!" said Hermione, unable to contain the trace of excitement she had always felt when receiving the regular letter in the summer holidays. "Here's yours too," she said, handing Ginny a second letter attached to her own.

They both sat down, either side of the desk, as they opened the letters. The expected list of items and books was enclosed, and then they read the letter. Ginny read the first standard paragraph, as did Hermione, which was the usual welcome and hope for a good school year. The second paragraph mentioned all the work that had been done and was continuing to be carried out, to make the school ready in time for the new term. It was when they reached the third paragraph that Hermione stopped and looked over to Ginny. The redhead had stopped reading after the third paragraph too and looked a little bemused, before she looked to Hermione.

"Um, does your letter say anything about staff, or prefects, or...or personnel?" asked Hermione.

"Sort of," replied Ginny, unsure how to voice her own question. "Why?"

"It seems...and I almost don't want it, but it seems I've been made Head Girl," said Hermione.

"Oh. There's some sort of mistake, then."

"Mistake?" asked Hermione. "I _shouldn't_ be Head Girl?"

"No, I don't mean that," said Ginny. "Shit, you're the logical choice! It's just...it says in my letter that _I'm _Head Girl too?!" She handed her letter to Hermione.

"Two Head Girls? In the same House?" said the brunette, as she read her girlfriend's letter. "You're right. Well, that's logical too, after what we did."

"It's a little strange, but I suppose if the last year has taught the magical world anything, it's the fact there's been a lot of change."

"Yes," said Hermione. She was silent as she continued to read the letters side by side, then she suddenly broke into a grin. "You know what this means, don't you?"

"I get to slap First Years around, and be loved for it!" laughed Ginny.

Hermione snorted with laughter, something the Hermione from a few years ago would not have found funny. _Weasley humour is infectious! _she thought. "Nooo! The Head Girl gets her own room in the dorms, not accessible by others without password and permission."

"They'll have to make...wait...we can share, can't we?" said Ginny, smiling, catching on very fast to Hermione's line of thinking.

"Precisely. Even if they offered a second single room, we can say we'll share."

"And then we'll both blush and the whole school will know the Head Girls' room is the 'lesbian love lounge'!" laughed Ginny.

"People will think what they want to, whatever we say or do, so shit to the lot of them! We'll be together and we're going to make the most of it!" said Hermione, with a determined nod of her head.

"Do you think McGonagall knows?" asked Ginny. "About us?"

"I'd say yes, because of Dumbledore."

"Dumbledore knows? How?"

"As you know, when you were kidnapped, we spoke to Dumbledore's portrait here to ask for some help on places to search. He said he knew what you meant to me, and the look he gave me was only one step away from giving me a wink!" said Hermione with a little laugh.

"Hmm," said Ginny, thinking it over. "You know, so what. If they know, they know. We're together and that's it."

"I couldn't agree more."

Around lunchtime Hermione paid her parents a visit, back at their old dental practice, to give them the good news. They were immensely proud of their daughter and her girlfriend and insisted the pair have dinner with them sometime that week. After leaving the Grangers they both went to the Burrow to tell Mrs. Weasley the good news. The woman was overjoyed, and agreed that both Ginny and Hermione deserved it.

"So that's three exciting letters today," said Mrs. Weasley.

"Three?" asked Ginny

"Ron got his letter from Hogwarts today too," said her mother.

"So he _is_ definitely going back?" asked Hermione.

"Yes, but even better than that, he's been made Head Boy!" said Mrs. Weasley, smiling broadly and clapping her hands together. "Who would have thought it?!"

_Ron's Head Boy? _thought Hermione. _I bet he never saw that one coming!_

"Is he happy about it?" wondered Ginny.

"Once he picked his jaw up off the floor and muttered a few expletives, I think he rather likes the idea," said Mrs. Weasley.

Hermione laughed. "I never would have guessed that the boy with the grubby face on the Hogwarts Express, all those years ago, would be made Head Boy!" she laughed again, genuinely pleased for Ron.

"Yeah, it does seem unlikely for the 'puking slugs' boy to land the big prize, doesn't it?" laughed Ginny. Then she put her head on one side thinking about it. "Maybe it's his time to shine," she said generously. "I'm sure had Harry gone back to school he would have been Head Boy, and although everyone might still think that, the fact is Ron _will_ be there and _is_ Head Boy."

"I wonder if there's more than one Head Boy?" said Hermione. "I suppose we'll find out soon enough."

"I'm not sure how the rest of the school will take it, that three Head students are from Gryffindor?!" said Ginny.

"We didn't make the choices, the teachers and McGonagall did," replied Hermione. "I'd have been happy to carry on as just a prefect, but I'll accept the honour all the same. Is Ron around here?"

"No," said Mrs. Weasley. "He's helping George at the shop today."

"Well, we'll have to go to Diagon Alley shopping soon, and there's plenty of time before term starts to catch up with him," said Hermione. "It will feel odd without Harry, but I suppose that's one of the many changes we'll all have to get used to."

"It _will_ be strange without him," said Ginny. "Thank goodness it's because he's working at the Ministry and not missing because he stayed dead."

"We'll have to have a little party for the three of you," said Mrs. Weasley. "All the family together, or as many as can visit."

"As long as I don't have to go out to the shed by myself, I'll be fine," said Ginny with a grin. "The last party kind of went a bit wrong for me."

"A bit wrong?" said Hermione. "You could say that! We'll have to arrange it around when we're having dinner with my parents."

"Why don't they come here, so we're all here together?" asked Mrs. Weasley. "The more the merrier."

Hermione was surprised by the offer, but smiled broadly. Up until now her parents and Ginny's had only had the one meeting for tea, at her house in Godric's Hollow. Everything had gone very well and as Ginny predicted, her mother got on with Hermione's mother like a house on fire and the two fathers seemed likely to be firm friends too.

"I'll ask them," replied Hermione. "I'm sure they'd like that."

"Excellent!" said Mrs. Weasley. "Nothing like a party and a house full."

Ginny looked to Hermione and couldn't contain a grin and then wrapped an arm around her shoulders. At a time like this, when everything was finally going right for them, in all ways, she wasn't sure she could be any happier. _Well, I'm _most _happy in her arms, after making love with her, _thought Ginny, who knew she was probably blushing slightly as the thoughts came to her. _But this isn't a bad second!_

XXXXXXXXXX

4 Years Later

It was a Friday evening and Hermione sat at her desk in the study of her house in Godric's Hollow, flicking through some memos from work, not really taking much notice of the writing on them, or absorbing any of the contents whatsoever. She sighed. Several times in the past few weeks she had questioned her choices. Did she even like her job? Did she see the point to it anymore? Did she agree with _any_ of the choices she had made since leaving Hogwarts?

She got up from her desk and went through to the kitchen to get a glass of juice, before going back to the study and sitting down again. Everything had always seemed so clear and so certain, but sitting here now she was troubled by questions. _What do I want? _she thought, _What is it that I really want?_

Picking up another piece of paper she read it, but it only seemed to confuse her further and she slapped it down on the desk and held her head in her hands. _What is it that I do? _she thought. _I'm a paper shuffler. How is this any different to being stuck in an office in the muggle world? Living one day to the next, feeling as if something is missing._

Hermione drank from her glass. Working at the Ministry had seemed the obvious choice for her and once she'd finished her final year at Hogwarts she was welcomed with open arms by the Minister, Kingsley Shacklebolt. Ron had begun auror training straight after Hogwarts too and it was nice to be around Harry again. To begin with, her work had been challenging and interesting and she felt she was making real progress with legislation, instigating several core changes to the harsher laws governing magical creatures, and humans with various afflictions and ancestry. After making such progress the work had begun to get boring and Hermione felt no more useful than any other office worker; dotting the i's and crossing the t's; working long hours which seemed to spill over into her evenings as well, was making her feel like she was forever walking through tar. _I'm like the mythical Sisyphus forever rolling that boulder up a hill, _she thought ruefully.

Although she worked across more than one department and was familiar with several of her colleagues from both Hogwarts and the Order, she felt lonely. Hermione hated feeling alone. She'd felt alone for most of her life, for many reasons. An only child; an only child with well above average intelligence; an only child, a genius and a first rate witch. Even with Harry and Ron as her first two real best friends, she had felt alone.

Then there was Ginny, who had been the first person to really light up the dusty dark corner where Hermione's true self resided. With Ginny she'd never felt alone, and felt part of something bigger. Everything they had done in the past had purpose and mattered, and their actions during the War, both the muggle World War Two and the Wizarding War, had directly affected many people, for the better. Yet, here she was, sitting at her desk in her study in Godric's Hollow, alone again, and it grated on her. _Ginny, _she thought, _I know we chose what we chose and we had to do our own thing, but I hate it. I hate _my _decision now._

Hermione picked up the piece of paper she'd slapped down onto the desk before, read it through again, and folded it up. She looked at Hugo, her barn owl, as he sat with one eye closed on a perch; he felt her looking at him, and opened both eyes and jumped down onto the desk, waiting for the letter that usually followed when his guardian wore that look. Stroking the owl's neck, Hermione picked up a quill and was about to start writing, but stopped after writing the word 'Dear'.

She then unfolded the other piece of paper and read it again. "Bugger it!" she said loudly. "I don't care if it's a Friday, I'm going to do it!" She folded up the page and put it into her beaded bag and briefly checked the bag for other contents, before putting a jacket on. "Sorry Hugo, I won't be needing you this evening," she said, as she got him a treat.

Placing the beaded bag in a pocket, Hermione strode purposely through her house, out of the kitchen and scullery, to the back garden and Disapparated. Moments later the brunette found herself walking up to a large imposing mansion house, as evening was turning to dusk, surrounded by green fields and rolling hills, with the sea vaguely visible a few miles away and not another house in sight. The wind blew strongly across the landscape, with a fine mist of drizzle. She'd only been here twice before, by invitation, as it wasn't normally a place that allowed just anyone to visit when they felt like it.

With her jaw clenched, feeling determined, Hermione walked up the long driveway to the main doors, which were reached by several stone steps, forming an impressive portico. She rang the old brass bell near the door, by pulling hard onto the chain of it, making the bell clang out loudly. Shortly afterwards, the door was answered by a woman in a smart, dark green uniform of skirt and jacket.

"Can I be of help?" asked the woman; then she looked at the brunette standing on the step and like most witches and wizards, recognized her immediately. "Oh hello, Miss Granger. Are you expected?"

"No. I'm not, I need to..."

"I'm sorry, but if you're not expected I can't let you in. The policy on visitors is clear, especially on a Friday."

"I know that, I've been here before. But I need to...," Hermione tried again.

"If you know, then you know I can't help you. You need to have a pass or an appointment," persisted the woman.

"Look, you know who I am. I work for the Ministry, for crying out loud. I'm not going to sell secrets or...or do anything, I just need to..."

"You know the rules, Miss Granger, you don't want to lose me my job, do you?"

"Arghhhh! Just for once, for one time only, can you forget your PISSING rules!" shouted Hermione.

"I'm sorry, I'm not the one who makes the rules," said the woman, a little shocked at the outburst from the famous Hermione Granger.

"Well bloody find me someone who does then!?"

"Is everything all right?" asked another voice, as a woman in black trousers and a green shirt appeared at the open door. The newcomer recognized Hermione straight away and vice versa. "Hello. What's the problem here, then?"

"Miss Granger doesn't have an appointment or pass and isn't expected, but still wants me to let her in," said the other woman, tiredly.

"If _I_ invite her in, then there's no problem, yes?" suggested the second woman. The first woman nodded, relieved that she didn't have to continue with the difficult situation that had arrived on the doorstep.

"Thank you," said Hermione, as she walked in through the door to a huge hallway, which had a massive staircase leading up to the next floor.

"Well, you'll be wanting to go up the stairs and to room eight," said the second woman.

Hermione nodded and walked to the staircase, only holding onto mild annoyance, after finally having got into the building. There seemed to be more stairs than there first looked, and Hermione felt incredibly unfit as she was nearly out of breath by the time she reached the landing. She walked along the finely carpeted hallway, looking at the door numbers as she walked. The carpet was green, the walls were another shade of green and even some of the tapestries and furniture had green thread or green enamel for decoration.

Two-thirds of the way down the hallway, Hermione finally found herself in front of room eight. She took a couple of steadying breaths and knocked on the door. A couple of noises were heard from within, followed by footsteps muffled on carpet and then the lock was turned and the door opened.

"Hermione?!"

"I had to see you," said Hermione, as she looked into the face she loved.

"Come in," said Ginny, completely surprised. She closed and locked the door again before turning to see Hermione standing and looking out of the window at an approaching dusk. "What are you doing here? How did you even get in?"

"I sort of became very persuasive," said Hermione with a smile. "Okay, I got pissed off and shouted and made a bit of a scene, and then Gwenog Jones let me in. I assume with her being captain she has some authority the others don't."

_Something's really bothering her, _thought a worried Ginny, as she went over to Hermione and wrapped her arms around her. "What's wrong?"

"I know you're supposed to be all focused on match weekends, especially the Friday night before a match at the team house here, but I...I can't take it anymore," said Hermione.

Looking very concerned and confused, Ginny moved back to look into Hermione's face. "You can't take it anymore?" she questioned. She got hold of Hermione's hand and led her to the sumptuously grand four poster bed in the room, and sat them down on the end of it. The bed even had a Harpies' green bedspread and curtains with gold thread designs.

"I've had enough of work, of doing pointless tasks, of working all hours and having my evenings and weekends eaten into. And I hate being alone so much," Hermione said, a frustrated tear rolling down her cheek.

"What are you saying?" asked Ginny. _Gods, she can't mean she wants us to break up, can she? _she thought for an awful moment. _It doesn't feel like it, but something is really upsetting her._ "We knew it was going to be hard; what with me playing for the Harpies and you working at the Ministry," said Ginny in a very soft voice, feeling so uncertain of what was going to be said next. "I hate being apart from you so much as well, but your work is important; you have to do those hours; I understand that. I understand that I don't get to have you all to myself anymore. And I'm away with the team on and off too, especially during the season."

"_Is_ my work important?" asked Hermione in a vague way. "It doesn't feel it anymore. I'm bored with it, which is so unlike me. And...and I miss you so much." Another tear rolled down her cheek as she leaned into Ginny and captured her lips in a fierce kiss. The action had surprised Ginny, but also made her feel relief, knowing that Hermione wasn't about to suggest they split up, or something equally disturbing.

"I don't know what the answer is," said Ginny, when they broke from their kiss. "Life isn't fair, sometimes."

"I have the answer," said Hermione, as she wiped her cheek and retrieved from her beaded bag the folded piece of paper from her study. "This is the third one I've had in the past three weeks. And...well, just read it," she said, handing the paper to Ginny.

Ginny unfolded it and immediately recognized the sender, and read on. "You've had three of these? I didn't know about the other two?"

"Sorry. I was going to tell you...but you've been busy getting ready for the new quidditch season and I was going through my endless lists of boring paperwork," explained Hermione, a bit ashamed that she'd kept it from her partner. "I was also angry with myself because it threw me. I was so adamant to say 'no', so certain, but I never replied. So a second more persistent one arrived, which confused me further. Then this third one arrived early this evening, and...well, what do you think?"

"What do _I _think?" said Ginny. "They're not addressed to me. And I've always said that you have to do what you think is best for you. I'll support you, whatever you choose."

"I've been thinking about it this evening," said Hermione. "Thinking about it in detail and what it would actually entail. I've worked out that it's not full time, not like my Ministry job; I would get a lot of time off, and my evenings wouldn't be so clogged up, nor my weekends either. And the work I would have would make me feel like I'm doing something worthwhile and actually making a difference."

"Is this what you really want?"

"What I want is to have more time for you. To actually be able to see you play for the Harpies more than the odd match I managed last season. To feel like I have a worthwhile job, and not be so tired and bored with my days," said Hermione.

"Sounds like you've made your choice," said Ginny, smiling, before adding, "Professor!"

Hermione kissed Ginny again, before holding onto her tightly, her nose buried in the red hair she loved, inhaling the scent that was Ginny. "I'll only be teaching one subject and even if I took on other lessons and helped with different things, I'd still have so much more time. Anyway, I had to see you to talk to you about it, because I need to reply by Monday, to give me a week or two of preparation. I think McGonagall will ease me into it."

"You'll have to mark homework!" said Ginny. "Endless parchments with spelling mistakes and peculiar answers."

"Yeah, but that's easy. It's everything I know backwards, but the thing that won't make it boring, is actually feeling I'm making a difference; giving the kids a start in their magical lives."

"Hmm, I hope the job still isn't cursed?" said Ginny, mostly in jest.

"It was only cursed thanks to the direct and indirect influence of Voldemort. I intend to hold the position of Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher, for longer than the ones _we_ knew!" said Hermione.

"No doubt the kids will find out you're with me, if they don't already know?"

"I couldn't care less about that," said Hermione. "We survived that final year at Hogwarts. After the first two weeks no one cared...in fact I think they were jealous!"

Ginny laughed. "Probably because we were getting 'some' and they weren't!"

"Whatever the case, I'm beyond being moved by strange looks or odd comments. I've dealt with that kind of thing most of my life, a classroom of kids isn't going to make me run from it all. It wasn't that long ago we were in that very classroom. I'm hoping I can actually make their lessons worth the time." Hermione sighed. "The best teacher we had for the subject was Lupin, and it was because he added his own style and made the lessons fun, even though what he taught us was very useful too. If I want to follow any example, and pay my respects in the best way I can, then he will be my guardian as I teach."

The two women kissed again and Ginny held Hermione tightly. "I can't do much to lessen the nights I have to be away with the team during the season," she said, feeling as though she ought to make more effort too.

"I don't expect you to," said Hermione. "This is what I want to do and I'm doing it not just for us, but for me too. And this job and my extra time with you will make me immensely happy, as will watching you play this season. Maybe I can work out a trip for the Hogwarts quidditch players to come and see one of your matches?"

"I'm sure that can be arranged," said Ginny.

"I'll already have a friend on the new teaching staff this year too," said Hermione, as she laid her head on Ginny's shoulder, enjoying being in her girlfriend's arms again.

"McGonagall, you mean? Although, she's not new, is she?"

"No. Neville!"

"Neville's a teacher?" said Ginny, surprised. "If you're going to tell me he's the new potions' master, I'll say you're lying!?"

"Herbology," replied Hermione. "He'll be perfect with that, and I think the kids will respond to him. I don't think he'll need to hand out many detentions."

Ginny began to nuzzle Hermione's neck, and placed some soft kisses to the skin there, before working her way to an ear and nibbling the earlobe, loving how Hermione inhaled some shallow breaths and gave a little shiver. "So, Professor," the redhead whispered. "Are you going to give _me_ detention? Hmm?"

Hermione's reply was to move back, put a hand to Ginny's cheek and lean in to kiss her deeply and passionately. They both moaned into the kiss, as Ginny placed a hand between them, to knead Hermione's breast.

The brunette broke the kiss, suddenly. "No, we can't! The rules. I can't get you into trouble."

"Rules? You broke a shed load of them barging your way into this house!?"

Hermione couldn't help but smile. "Point taken," she said. "But in case you've forgotten, your little welcoming handbook, when you signed for the Harpies, mentioned the preference that players don't indulge in amorous activity the night before a match; it's another purpose of you being at this house before matches. _And_ this happens to be before the _first_ match of the new season, too!"

"I wasn't intending to indulge in any 'amorous activity'," said Ginny, amused.

"What do you call sex, then?" asked Hermione, equally amused.

"Something I very much want to have with you, right now," said Ginny, smirking.

"Ginny?! I don't want to mess things up for you. I'll be at your match tomorrow; I've made sure of that. I know this is the team house and I shouldn't have come here," said Hermione, who immediately wished she'd opted for a different choice of words.

"_I_ want you to _come _here," said Ginny. When she saw Hermione roll her eyes she said, "Look, it's obvious what might happen if you're here. You were clearly in a bit of a state when you arrived; I don't think anyone will question it; and if I'm crap in the match tomorrow then I'll gladly take the punishment, but right now I want _you_, Hermione."

Hermione couldn't avoid answering, "I want you too. I always want you."

"You've made me so happy," said Ginny. "And I'm happy that you won't be miserable anymore, although I wish you'd talked to me about it and let me help you with that sooner, rather than suffering the way you have. I thought you were tired a lot, but didn't realize how depressed you were with your job. Anyway, there's no way I can be anything other than content." Ginny wrapped her arms around Hermione again, pressing kisses to her cheek and neck once more. "I think I'll be worse if we don't, you know...sexual frustration doesn't mix with concentration in sports."

"You just made that up!?" said Hermione, backing away to look Ginny in the eyes.

"It might not be in that funky handbook, but the girls often get talking and believe me, sexual frustration is a form killer!" Ginny put her hand on Hermione's shoulder and slowly slid it down to cup a breast through material. She caressed the firm mound, rubbing the fabric with her thumb over where she could feel a hardened nipple. "Do you really want to leave, now?"

Hermione had closed her eyes, enjoying feeling Ginny's hands touching her. It had been nearly four weeks since they'd had the time or opportunity to be intimate; due in part to Ginny's pre-season training and her own workload; as the redhead touched her now, in such a tame way, it made her ache for more.

"No," said Hermione, opening her eyes and sitting upright, before taking hold of the hand that was touching her.

Ginny stopped her hand. "No?"

"I don't want to leave. Please..." Hermione brought Ginny's hand to her mouth and kissed the palm. "Make me yours."

The two women made love, never feeling so close to one another and feeling as if they were falling in love all over again. Emotions and sensations were heightened from Hermione's decision on her career and wanting more time with Ginny, to the exciting feeling of breaking the rules by sleeping together in the team house. Both were glad they had thought to cast a silencing charm before they got too carried away, as they voiced the other's name when their releases crashed down upon them; their love simply burning inside them.

Afterwards, as they were in each other's arms, they considered their situation and both had never felt so content and at ease with life as they did in that moment. All of it had been worth it; all the stress, all the danger, all the changes, even if it had taken them a little longer to find the right choices now.

"I think another reason I was getting so fed up with my job and with not seeing you, was that connection thing we have," said Hermione, thoughtfully. "Like that part of me was pining for you and the less and less I saw of you the more dark and depressed it made me feel."

"It might be," said Ginny. "I admit to finding myself yearning for you too and getting utterly sick of the green decor in this bloody house! Once or twice Gwenog has found me bawling my eyes out for no apparent reason, in the last couple of years; I thought it was just my period or something, but I've often wondered if it was because I was away from you. In some ways it's not unlike what is said about twins and how they seem to be aware of the other. It was another reason I was so worried about George and still am to an extent; losing Fred must be beyond what most of us can imagine."

"If I'd said no to McGonagall and Flitwick way back then," said Hermione. "We would never have gone back in time and maybe never got together, whatever any destiny was supposed to be."

"Maybe, maybe not," replied Ginny. "Who knows? One of us might eventually have got a crush on the other."

"I doubt we would have acted on it. Not for a very long time."

"Possibly not, although we do have that 'deep connection' thing, which seemed to have been there even when we were trying to run from our feelings; so maybe we wouldn't have fought it forever. If there _is_ such a thing as destiny, perhaps being together was always meant to be for us," said Ginny. "We have to be thankful that you're not a coward and were prepared to do whatever they asked of you, or it might have been years before anything had a chance of happening."

"And I have to be thankful that you were a nosy git who decided to follow me and spy on me!"

"Ouch!" said Ginny, in mock response to the accusation. "Someone had to keep an eye on you!"

"I know, you were looking out for me, as well as satisfying your curiosity."

"And now you satisfy me in a totally different way!" said Ginny, making them both laugh.

They were quiet for a time, with Hermione resting her head on Ginny's shoulder, tracing a pattern across the redhead's chest with a finger. Ginny had an arm around Hermione, her hand caressing the soft skin of the brunette's back. Both were thinking back to what they had done over four years ago, to help end Voldemort and how they had fallen in love. Hermione smiled as she remembered their initial bumbling attempts to admit their feelings to each other.

Ginny was thinking of the same things too. _It's a cliché, _she thought, _as well as bloody sappy, but she completes me. I always knew that to some extent, by the way I've felt about her, but now? At this very moment, I mean it to the extreme of the phrase. I can't think of ever having wanted another, and doubt I ever will. I am so content, and she completes me as if I've gone full circle and just realized it properly...REALLY understood it. _She smiled as she pressed another kiss to the top of Hermione's head.

_Full circle, _Ginny dreamily thought again. _No, I don't want or need anyone else. _Her thoughts were taken back to being in the Trophy Room at Hogwarts, after having brought Harry back from the dead. For some reason she remembered part of it, like a vision; of taking Hermione's hand, to look at the ring of Elizabeth Woodville. _What was it I said? _she thought, knowing she'd said something fairly vomit-worthy. Then it came to her: _'If we were alone I'd like to... _Everything came to her, from that moment and exactly what she'd said. _I said _that?thought Ginny, then other thoughts came to her in answer to it. _And I meant it. Except I've never actually..._

"Hermione?"

"Hmm?"

"Will you marry me?"

Hermione laughed in reply.

"I'm serious," said Ginny, which made Hermione move so she could see her lover's face. "I once said to you that I wanted to place a ring on your finger to show you that yours is the only hand I want to place rings on. I meant it then, and I mean it now. Hermione Granger, will you marry me?"

"Fuck!"

"That wasn't quite the response I was hoping for," said Ginny, amused.

"It's not a question, Ginny..."

"I thought it _was_ a question?"

"Yes."

"Yes, it _was _a question?" asked a very confused and slightly worried Ginny, now. _Maybe I shouldn't have said anything and worked up to it for a week or two, _she thought.

"YES! Of course I'll marry you!" said Hermione, as she leaned in and gently kissed Ginny.

"Ahh, well, there's a slight snag," said Ginny, suddenly realizing something. "I don't have a ring for you, yet, to actually do my proving part."

"You have nothing you need to prove to me, my love," said Hermione. "When we go shopping together for rings for both of us, you can do that bit then."

"You mean everything to me," said Ginny. "It feels like I've been to the ends of the earth with you, and I'm thankful for every moment."

"We've been to places and experienced things people can hardly dream of," said Hermione, wiping a tear away. "And I want to share the rest of my life with you."

"And I with you," said Ginny, her bottom lip trembling a little. "I love you, Hermione."

"I love you, Ginny, so much."

With tears of happiness they kissed and held each other, before Ginny suddenly exclaimed, "Bugger!"

"What?"

"Mum's going to be a bloody nightmare!"

"But she's okay with us being together, isn't she?" asked Hermione, wondering why getting engaged and married was a problem, when they'd been living together properly for nearly three years.

"Yes, she's okay with that, but she'll want to organize the wedding!" groaned Ginny.

There was a pause of awed silence, filled with some dread from both women, until Hermione came to a conclusion. "It doesn't matter," said Hermione. "As long as we're there together, and it's you and me and we're with the people we love, then everything else is irrelevant. If your mother wants white horses and pink roses, gnomes as page boys and a cake shaped like a pumpkin, let her have it. What matters is that I'll be standing next to you, and pledging my love and my life to _you_. I couldn't care less about the superficial nonsense around it. I always think all that stuff is for the guests' benefit and has little to do with what the couple getting married really want."

"You're right," considered Ginny, with a little relieved sigh, when she saw how clearly Hermione had made things. "We've been here and there, and crossed timelines, worn stupid uniforms and tackled dangerously crazy people, but as long as we're together, nothing else matters. Together we can face anything."

THE END OF HERE AND THERE

**A/N: Thanks for staying with my little story, I had fun writing and sharing it, and if you enjoyed it, that's a bonus to me. :)**

**I don't have plans to write a sequel or the 'in between years' for this story, but I have enjoyed this particular pairing in this particular story, so I can never say never about it. What started out as a little wandering tale kind of allowed these characters to go through some things I never considered they would...I knew most of the things I wanted them to experience, but when it came to how they felt and how they acted, I just let them do and go where they wanted to. :)**

**As I was checking this chapter I was listening to a CD, Pink's "Truth About Love" album, and the song "Try" could almost be a soundtrack to this whole story. It's weird how that hit me. **_**"Where there is desire, there is gonna be a flame. Where there is a flame, someone's bound to get burned. But just because it burns, doesn't mean you're gonna die. You gotta get up and try..."**_


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